THIS  BOOK  BELONGS  TO 


THE  PRACTICE  OF 
AUTOSUGGESTION 


THE    PRACTICE    OF 
AUTOSUGGESTION 

BY  THE  METHOD  of  EMILE  COUfi 

Revised  Edition 

BY 

C.  HARRY  BROOKS 


WITH    A    FOREWORD    BY 

EMILE    COUE 


"For    what  man  knoweth  the  things  of   a   man  save   the 
spirit  of  the  man  which  is  in  him  ?  " 

i  CORINTHIANS  ii.  11. 


NEW  YORK 
DODD,  MEAD  AND  COMPANY 

1922 


COPYRIGHT  1922 
BY  DODD.  MEAD  AND  COMPANY,  IH& 


First  Printing,  May,  1922 
Second  Printing,  June,  1922 
Third  Printing,  June,  1922 
Fourth  Printing,  July,  1923 
Fifth  Printing,  July,  1922 
Sixth  Printing,  Aug.,  1922 
Seventh  Printing,  Aug.,  1924 
Eighth  Printing,  Aug.,  1923 
Ninth  Printing,  Sept.,  1922 


PRINTED   IN    THE    U.  8.  A.  BY 

g»  (Sninn  &  gobtn  Cmnymp 

BOOK      MANUFACTURERS 


TO 

ALL    IN     CONFLICT    WITH 
THEIR  OWN  IMPERFECTIONS 

THIS  LITTLE  BOOK 
IS  DEDICATED 


2040579 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE 

THE  discoveries  of  Emile  Coue  are  of  such  moment 
for  the  happini~>s  and  efficiency  of  the  individual 
life  that  it  is 'the  duty  of  anyone  acquainted  with 
them  to  pass  them  on  to  his  fellows. 

The  lives  of  many  men  and  women  are  robbed  of 
their  true  value  by  twists  and  flaws  of  character  and 
temperament,  which,  while  defying  the  efforts  of  the 
will,  would  yield  rapidly  to  the  influence  of  autosug- 
gestion. Unfortunately,  the  knowledge  of  this  method 
has  hitherto  been  available  in  England  only  in  the 
somewhat  detailed  and  technical  work  of  Professor 
Charles  Baudouin,  and  in  a  small  pamphlet,  printed 
privately  by  M.  Coue,  which  has  not  been  publicly 
exposed  for  sale.  To  fill  this  gap  is  the  aim  of  the 
following  pages.  They  are  designed  to  present  to  the 
layman  in  non-technical  form  the  information  neces- 
sary to  enable  him  to  practise  autosuggestion  for  him- 
self. 

All  readers  who  wish  to  obtain  a  deeper  insight  into 
the  theoretical  basis  of  autosuggestion  are  recom- 
mended to  study  Professor  Baudouin's  fascinating 
work,  Suggestion  and  Autosuggestion.  Although  in 


8   THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

these  pages  there  are  occasional  divergences  from  Pro- 
fessor Baudouin's  views,  his  book  remains  beyond 
question  the  authoritative  statement  on  the  subject; 
indeed  it  is  hardly  possible  without  it  to  form  an  ade- 
quate idea  of  the  scope  of  autosuggestion.  My  own 
indebtedness  to  it  in  writing  this  little  volume  is  very 
great.  M.  Coue's  own  pamphlet,  Self-Mastery,  can 
now  be  obtained  from  the  Institute  for  the  Practice 
of  Autosuggestion,  20  Grosvenor  Gardens,  London, 
S.  W.  I. 

My  thanks  are  due  for  innumerable  kindnesses  to 
M.  Coue  himself.  That  he  is  the  embodiment  of 
patience  everyone  knows  who  has  been  in  contact  with 
him.  I  am  also  indebted  to  the  Rev.  Ernest  Charles, 
of  Malvern  Link,  who,  though  disclaiming  responsi- 
bility for  some  of  the  views  expressed  here,  has  made 
many  extremely  valuable  suggestions. 

C.  H.  B. 

MALVERN  LINK, 
21  February,  1922. 


FOREWORD 

THE  materials  for  this  little  book  were  collected  by 
Mr.  Brooks  during  a  visit  he  paid  me  in  the  summer 
of  1921.  He  was,  I  think,  the  first  Englishman  to 
come  to  Nancy  with  the  express  purpose  of  studying 
my  method  of  conscious  autosuggestion.  In  the  course 
of  daily  visits  extending  over  some  weeks,  by  attend- 
ing my  consultations,  and  by  private  conversations 
with  myself,  he  obtained  a  full  mastery  of  the  method, 
and  we  threshed  out  a  good  deal  of  the  theory  on 
which  it  rests. 

The  results  of  this  study  are  contained  in  the  follow- 
ing pages.  Mr.  Brooks  has  skilfully  seized  on  the 
essentials  and  put  them  forward  in  a  manner  that 
seems  to  me  both  simple  and  clear.  The  instructions 
given  are  amply  sufficient  to  enable  anyone  to  practise 
autosuggestion  for  him  or  herself,  without  seeking  the 
help  of  any  other  person. 


10     THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

It  is  a  method  which  everyone  should  follow — the 
sick  to  obtain  healing,  the  healthy  to  prevent  the  coming 
of  disease  in  the  future.  By  its  practice  we  can  insure 
for  ourselves,  all  our  lives  long,  an  excellent  state  of 
health,  both  of  the  mind  and  the  body. 

E.  COUE. 

NANCY. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

PREFACE          7 


FOREWORD 


I 
COUE'S  NANCY  PRACTICE 

CHAPTER 

I        THE  CLINIC  OF  EMILE  COUE         .  .  .          1 5 

II       A   FEW   OF  COUE'S  CURES  2Q 

in     THE  CHILDREN'S  CLINIC    ....       36 

II 
THE  NATURE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

IV        THOUGHT  IS  A  FORCE   .          ...          ...          47 

V       THOUGHT    AND   THE   WILL  .          >:          .          57 

III 

THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 
VI        GENERAL  RULES 71 

VII        THE  GENERAL  FORMULA       ....          78 
11 


12    THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

VIH  PARTICULAR  SUGGESTIONS   .;...;  88 

IX  HOW  TO  DEAL  WITH  PAIN   .          .          .          .  99 

X  AUTOSUGGESTION  AND  THE  CHILD     .          .  IO4 

XI  CONCLUSION  III 


I 

COUE'S  NANCY  PRACTICE 


CHAPTER  I 
THE  CLINIC  OF  EMILE  COUfi 

THE  clinic  of  Emile  Coue,  where  Induced  Autosugges- 
tion is  applied  to  the  treatment  of  disease,  is  situated 
in  a  pleasant  garden  attached  to  his  house  at  the 
quiet  end  of  the  rue  Jeanne  d'Arc  in  Nancy.  It 
was  here  that  I  visited  him  in  the  early  summer  of 
1921,  and  had  the  pleasure  for  the  first  time  of  wit- 
nessing one  of  his  consultations. 

We  entered  the  garden  from  his  house  a  little  before 
nine  o'clock.  In  one  corner  was  a  brick  building  of 
two  stories,  with  its  windows  thrown  wide  to  let  in 
the  air  and  sunshine — this  was  the  clinic;  a  few  yards 
away  was  a  smaller  one-storied  construction  which 
served  as  a  waiting-room.  Under  the  plum  and  cherry 
trees,  now  laden  with  fruit,  little  groups  of  patients 
were  sitting  on  the  garden  seats,  chatting  amicably 
together  and  enjoying  the  morning  sunshine  while 
others  wandered  in  twos  and  threes  among  the  flowers 
and  strawberry  beds.  The  room  reserved  for  the 
treatments  was  already  crowded,  but  in  spite  of  that 
eager  newcomers  constantly  tried  to  gain  entrance. 
The  window-sills  on  the  ground  floor  were  beset,  and 
a  dense  knot  had  formed  in  the  doorway.  Inside,  the 
patients  had  first  occupied  the  seats  which  surrounded 
the  walls,  and  then  covered  the  available  floor-space, 
sitting  on  camp-stools  and  folding-chairs.  Coue  with 
some  difficulty  found  me  a  seat,  and  the  treatment 
immediately  began. 

is 


16      THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

The  first  patient  he  addressed  was  a  frail,  middle- 
aged  man  who,  accompanied  by  his  daughter,  had  just 
arrived  from  Paris  to  consult  him.  The  man  was  a 
bad  case  of  nervous  trouble.  He  walked  with  diffi- 
culty, and  his  head,  arms  and  legs  were  afflicted  with 
a  continual  tremor.  He  explained  that  if  he  encoun- 
tered a  stranger  when  walking  in  the  street  the  idea 
that  the  latter  would  remark  his  infirmity  completely 
paralysed  him,  and  he  had  to  cling  to  whatever  sup- 
port was  at  hand  to  save  himself  from  falling.  At 
Coue's  invitation  he  rose  from  his  seat  and  took  a  few 
steps  across  the  floor.  He  walked  slowly,  leaning  on 
a  stick;  his  knees  were  half  bent,  and  his  feet  dragged 
heavily  along  the  ground. 

Coue  encouraged  him  with  the  promise  of  improve- 
ment. "  You  have  been  sowing  bad  seed  in  your  Un- 
conscious; now  you  will  sow  good  seed.  The  power 
by  which  you  have  produced  these  ill  effects  will  in 
future  produce  equally  good  ones." 

The  next  patient  was  an  excitable,  over-worked 
woman  of  the  artisan  class.  When  Coue  inquired  the 
nature  of  her  trouble,  she  broke  into  a  flood  of  com- 
plaint, describing  each  symptom  with  a  voluble  minute- 
ness. "  Madame,"  he  interrupted,  "  you  think  too 
much  about  your  ailments,  and  in  thinking  of  them 
you  create  fresh  ones." 

Next  came  a  girl  with  headaches,  a  youth  with 
inflamed  eyes,  and  a  farm-labourer  incapacitated  by 
varicose  veins.  In  each  case  Coue  stated  that  auto- 
suggestion should  bring  complete  relief.  Then  it  was 
the  turn  of  a  business  man  who  complained  of  nerv- 
ousness, lack  of  self-confidence  and  haunting  fears. 

"  When  you  know  the  method,"  said  Coue,  "  you 
will  not  allow  yourself  to  harbour  such  ideas." 


THE  CLINIC  OF  EMILE  COUE  17 

"  I  work  terribly  hard  to  get  rid  of  them,"  the 
patient  answered. 

"  You  fatigue  yourself.  The  greater  the  efforts  you 
make,  the  more  the  ideas  return.  You  will  change  all 
that  easily,  simply,  and  above  all,  without  effort." 

"  I  want  to,"  the  man  interjected. 

"  That's  just  where  you're  wrong,"  Coue  told  him. 
"If  you  say  '  I  want  to  do  something/  your  imagina- 
tion replies  'Oh,  but  you  can't.'  You  must  say  'I 
am  going  to  do  it,'  and  if  it  is  in  the  region  of  the 
possible  you  will  succeed." 

A  little  further  on  was  another  neurasthenic — a  girl. 
This  was  her  third  visit  to  the  clinic,  and  for  ten  days 
she  had  been  practising  the  method  at  home.  With 
a  happy  smile,  and  a  little  pardonable  self-importance, 
she  declared  that  she  already  felt  a  considerable 
improvement.  She  had  more  energy,  was  beginning  to 
enjoy  life,  ate  heartily  and  slept  more  soundly.  Her 
sincerity  and  naive  delight  helped  to  strengthen  the 
faith  of  her  fellow-patients.  They  looked  on  her  as  a 
living  proof  of  the  healing  which  should  come  to 
themselves. 

Coue  continued  his  questions.  Those  who  were 
unable,  whether  through  rheumatism  or  some  paralytic 
affection,  to  make  use  of  a  limb  were  called  on,  as  a 
criterion  of  future  progress,  to  put  out  their  maximum 
efforts. 

In  addition  to  the  visitor  from  Paris  there  were 
present  a  man  and  a  woman  who  could  not  walk  with- 
out support,  and  a  burly  peasant,  formerly  a  black- 
smith, who  for  nearly  ten  years  had  not  succeeded  in 
lifting  his  right  arm  above  the  level  of  his  shoulder. 
In  each  case  Coue  predicted  a  complete  cure. 

During  this  preliminary  stage  of  the  treatment,  the 


18      THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

words  he  spoke  were  not  in  the  nature  of  suggestions. 
They  were  sober  expressions  of  opinion,  based  on  years 
of  experience.  Not  once  did  he  reject  the  possibility 
of  cure,  though  with  several  patients  suffering  from 
organic  disease  in  an  advanced  stage,  he  admitted  its 
unlikelihood.  To  these  he  promised,  however,  a  ces- 
sation of  pain,  an  improvement  of  morale,  and  at  least 
a  retardment  of  the  progress  of  the  disease.  "  Mean- 
while," he  added,  "  the  limits  of  the  power  of  auto- 
suggestion are  not  yet  known;  final  recovery  is  pos- 
sible." In  all  cases  of  functional  and  nervous  dis- 
orders, as  well  as  the  less  serious  ones  of  an  organic 
nature,  he  stated  that  autosuggestion,  conscientiously 
applied,  was  capable  of  removing  the  trouble  com- 
pletely. 

It  took  Coue  nearly  forty  minutes  to  complete  his 
interrogation.  Other  patients  bore  witness  to  the 
benefits  the  treatment  had  already  conferred  on  them. 
A  woman  with  a  painful  swelling  in  her  breast,  which 
a  doctor  had  diagnosed  (in  Coue's  opinion  wrongly), 
as  of  a  cancerous  nature,  had  found  complete  relief 
after  less  than  three  weeks'  treatment.  Another 
woman  had  enriched  her  impoverished  blood,  and  in- 
creased her  weight  by  over  nine  pounds.  A  man  had 
been  cured  of  a  varicose  ulcer,  another  in  a  single 
sitting  had  rid  himself  of  a  lifelong  habit  of  stammer- 
ing. Only  one  of  the  former  patients  failed  to  report 
an  improvement.  "  Monsieur,"  said  Coue,  "  you  have 
been  making  efforts.  You  must  put  your  trust  in  the 
imagination,  not  in  the  will.  Think  you  are  better 
and  you  will  become  so." 

Coue  now  proceeded  to  outline  the  theory  given  in 
the  pages  which  follow.  It  is  sufficient  here  to  state 
his  main  conclusions,  which  were  these:  (i)  Every 


THE  CLINIC  OF  EMILE  COUE  19 

idea  which  exclusively  occupies  the  mind  is  trans- 
formed into  an  actual  physical  or  mental  state.  (2) 
The  efforts  we  make  to  conquer  an  idea  by  exerting 
the  will  only  serve  to  make  that  idea  more  power- 
ful. To  demonstrate  these  truths  he  requested  one  of 
his  patients,  a  young  anaemic-looking  woman,  to  carry 
out  a  small  experiment.  She  extended  her  arms  in 
front  of  her,  and  clasped  the  hands  firmly  together  with 
the  fingers  interlaced,  increasing  the  force  of  her  grip 
until  a  slight  tremor  set  in.  "  Look  at  your  hands," 
said  Coue,  "  and  think  you  would  like  to  open  them  but 
you  cannot.  Now  try  and  pull  them  apart.  Pull  hard. 
You  find  that  the  more  you  try  the  more  tightly  they 
become  clasped  together." 

The  girl  made  little  convulsive  movements  of  her 
wrists,  really  doing  her  best  by  physical  force  to  sepa- 
rate her  hands,  but  the  harder  she  tried  the  more  her 
grip  increased  in  strength,  until  the  knuckles  turned 
white  with  the  pressure.  Her  hands  seemed  locked 
together  by  a  force  outside  her  own  control. 

"  Now  think,"  said  Coue,  "  '  I  can  open  my  hands.'  " 

Slowly  her  grasp  relaxed  and,  in  response  to  a  little 
pull,  the  cramped  fingers  came  apart.  She  smiled 
shyly  at  the  attention  she  had  attracted,  and  sat  down. 

Coue  pointed  out  that  the  two  main  points  of  his 
theory  were  thus  demonstrated  simultaneously:  when 
the  patient's  mind  was  filled  with  the  thought  "  I  can- 
not," she  could  not  in  very  fact  unclasp  her  hands.  Fur- 
ther, the  efforts  she  made  to  wrench  them  apart  by 
exerting  her  will  only  fixed  them  more  firmly  together. 

Each  patient  was  now  called  on  in  turn  to  perform 
the  same  experiment.  The  more  imaginative  among 
them — notably  the  women — were  at  once  successful. 
One  old  lady  was  so  absorbed  in  the  thought  "  I  can- 


20     THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

not "  as  not  to  heed  the  request  to  think  "  I  can." 
With  her  face  ruefully  puckered  up  she  sat  staring 
fixedly  at  her  interlocked  fingers,  as  though  contem- 
plating an  act  of  fate.  "  Voila,"  said  Coue,  smiling, 
"  if  Madame  persists  in  her  present  idea,  she  will  never 
open  her  hands  again  as  long  as  she  lives." 

Several  of  the  men,  however,  were  not  at  once  suc- 
cessful. The  whilom  blacksmith  with  the  disabled 
arm,  when  told  to  think  "  I  should  like  to  open  my 
hands  but  I  cannot,"  proceeded  without  difficulty  to 
open  them. 

"  You  see,"  said  Coue,  with  a  smile,  "  it  depends 
not  on  what  I  say  but  on  what  you  think.  What  were 
you  thinking  then  ?  " 

He  hesitated.  "  I  thought  perhaps  I  could  open 
them  after  all." 

"  Exactly.  And  therefore  you  could.  Now  clasp 
your  hands  again.  Press  them  together." 

When  the  right  degree  of  pressure  had  been  reached, 
Coue  told  him  to  repeat  the  words  "  I  cannot,  I  can- 
not. .  .  ." 

As  he  repeated  this  phrase  the  contracture  increased, 
and  all  his  efforts  failed  to  release  his  grip. 

"  Voila,"  said  Coue.  "  Now  listen.  For  ten  years 
you  have  been  thinking  you  could  not  lift  your  arm 
above  your  shoulder,  consequently  you  have  not  been 
able  to  do  so,  for  whatever  we  think  becomes  true 
for  us.  Now  think  '  I  can  lift  it.'  " 

The  patient  looked  at  him  doubtfully. 

"  Quick ! "  Coue  said  in  a  tone  of  authority. 
"Think 'I  can,  lean!'" 

"  I  can,"  said  the  man.  He  made  a  half-hearted 
attempt  and  complained  of  a  pain  in  his  shoulder. 

"  Bon,"  said  Coue.     "  Don't  lower  your  arm.     Close 


THE  CLINIC  OF  EMILE  COUE  21 

your  eyes  and  repeat  with  me  as  fast  as  you  can,  '  Ca 
passe,  <;a  passe.' " 

For  half  a  minute  they  repeated  this  phrase  together, 
speaking  so  fast  as  to  produce  a  sound  like  the  whirr 
of  a  rapidly  revolving  machine.  Meanwhile  Coue 
quickly  stroked  the  man's  shoulder.  At  the  end  of 
that  time  the  patient  admitted  that  his  pain  had  left 
him. 

"  Now  think  well  that  you  can  lift  your  arm,"  Coue 
said. 

The  departure  of  the  pain  had  given  the  patient  faith. 
His  face,  which  before  had  been  perplexed  and  incredu- 
lous, brightened  as  the  thought  of  power  took  posses- 
sion of  him.  "  I  can,"  he  said  in  a  tone  of  finality, 
and  without  effort  he  calmly  lifted  his  arm  to  its  full 
height  above  his  head.  He  held  it  there  triumphantly 
for  a  moment  while  the  whole  company  applauded  and 
encouraged  him. 

Coue  reached  for  his  hand  and  shook  it. 

"  My  friend,  you  are  cured." 

"  C'est  merveilleux,"  the  man  answered.  "  I  be- 
lieve I  am." 

"  Prove  it,"  said  Coue.     "  Hit  me  on  the  shoulder." 

The  patient  laughed,  and  dealt  him  a  gentle  rap. 

"  Harder,"  Coue  encouraged  him.  "  Hit  me  harder 
— as  hard  as  you  can." 

His  arm  began  to  rise  and  fall  in  regular  blows, 
increasing  in  force  until  Coue  was  compelled  to  call 
on  him  to  stop. 

"  Voila,  mon  ami,  you  can  go  back  to  your  anvil." 

The  man  resumed  his  seat,  still  hardly  able  to  com- 
prehend what  had  occurred.  Now  and  then  he  lifted 
his  arm  as  if  to  reassure  himself,  whispering  to  him- 
self in  an  awed  voice,  "  I  can,  I  can." 


22     THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

A  little  further  on  was  seated  a  woman  who  had 
complained  of  violent  neuralgia.  Under  the  influence 
of  the  repeated  phrase  "  9a  passe  "  (it's  going)  the 
pain  was  dispelled  in  less  than  thirty  seconds.  Then 
it  was  the  turn  of  the  visitor  from  Paris.  What  he 
had  seen  had  inspired  him  with  confidence;  he  was 
sitting  more  erect,  there  was  a  little  patch  of  colour 
in  his  cheeks,  and  his  trembling  seemed  less  violent. 

He  performed  the  experiment  with  immediate 
success. 

"  Now,"  said  Coue,  "  you  are  cultivated  ground.  I 
can  throw  out  the  seed  in  handfuls." 

He  caused  the  sufferer  first  to  stand  erect  with  his 
back  and  knees  straightened.  Then  he  asked  him, 
constantly  thinking  "  I  can,"  to  place  his  entire  weight 
on  each  foot  in  turn,  slowly  performing  the  exercise 
known  as  "  marking  time."  A  space  was  then  cleared 
of  chairs,  and  having  discarded  his  stick,  the  man  was 
made  to  walk  to  and  fro.  When  his  gait  became  slov- 
enly Coue  stopped  him,  pointed  out  his  fault,  and,  re- 
newing the  thought  "  I  can,"  caused  him  to  correct  it. 
Progressive  improvement  kindled  the  man's  imagina- 
tion. He  took  himself  in  his  own  hands.  His  bear- 
ing became  more  and  more  confident,  he  walked  more 
easily,  more  quickly.  His  little  daughter,  all  smiles 
and  happy  self-f  orgetfulness,  stood  beside  him  uttering 
expressions  of  delight,  admiration  and  encouragement. 
The  whole  company  laughed  and  clapped  their  hands. 

"  After  the  sitting,"  said  Coue,  "  you  shall  come  for 
a  run  in  my  garden." 

Thus  Coue  continued  his  round  of  the  clinic.  Each 
patient  suffering  from  pain  was  given  complete  or 
partial  relief;  those  with  useless  limbs  had  a  varying 
measure  of  use  restored  to  them.  Coue's  manner  was 


THE  CLINIC  OF  EMILE  COUE  23 

always  quietly  inspiring.  There  was  no  formality,  no 
attitude  of  the  superior  person;  he  treated  everyone, 
whether  rich  or  poor,  with  the  same  friendly  solicitude. 
But  within  these  limits  he  varied  his  tone  to  suit  the 
temperament  of  the  patient.  Sometimes  he  was  firm, 
sometimes  gently  bantering.  He  seized  every  oppor- 
tunity for  a  little  humorous  by-play.  One  might  al- 
most say  that  he  tactfully  teased  some  of  his  patients, 
giving  them  an  idea  that  their  ailment  was  absurd,  and 
a  little  unworthy;  that  to  be  ill  was  a  quaint  but  rep- 
rehensible weakness,  which  they  should  quickly  get  rid 
of.  Indeed,  this  denial  of  the  dignity  of  disease  is 
one  of  the  characteristics  of  the  place.  No  homage  is 
paid  to  it  as  a  Dread  Monarch.  It  is  gently  ridiculed, 
its  terrors  are  made  to  appear  second-rate,  and  its 
victims  end  by  laughing  at  it. 

Coue  now  passed  on  to  the  formulation  of  specific 
suggestions.  The  patients  closed  their  eyes,  and  he 
proceeded  in  a  low,  monotonous  voice,  to  evoke  before 
their  minds  the  states  of  health,  mental  and  physical, 
they  were  seeking.  As  they  listened  to  him  their  alert- 
ness ebbed  away,  they  were  lulled  into  a  drowsy  state, 
peopled  only  by  the  vivid  images  he  called  up  before 
the  eyes  of  the  mind.  The  faint  rustle  of  the  trees, 
the  songs  of  the  birds,  the  low  voices  of  those  waiting 
in  the  garden,  merged  into  a  pleasant  background,  on 
which  his  words  stood  out  power  fully. 

This  is  what  he  said : 

"  Say  to  yourself  that  all  the  words  I  am  about 
to  utter  will  be  fixed,  imprinted  and  engraven  in  your 
minds ;  that  they  will  remain  fixed,  imprinted  and  en- 
graven there,  so  that  without  your  will  and  knowledge, 
without  your  being  in  any  way  aware  of  what  is  tak- 
ing place,  you  yourself  and  your  whole  organism  will 


24      THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

obey  them.  I  tell  you  first  that  every  day,  three  times 
a  day,  morning,  noon  and  evening,  at  mealtimes,  you 
will  be  hungry ;  that  is  to  say  you  will  feel  that  pleasant 
sensation  which  makes  us  think  and  say :  '  How  I 
should  like  something  to  eat ! '  You  will  then  eat  with 
excellent  appetite,  enjoying  your  food,  but  you  will 
never  eat  too  much.  You  will  eat  the  right  amount, 
neither  too  much  nor  too  little,  and  you  will  know 
intuitively  when  you  have  had  sufficient.  You  will 
masticate  your  food  thoroughly,  transforming  it  into 
a  smooth  paste  before  swallowing  it.  In  these  condi- 
tions you  will  digest  it  well,  and  so  feel  no  discomfort 
of  any  kind  either  in  the  stomach  or  the  intestines. 
Assimilation  will  be  perfectly  performed,  and  your 
organism  will  make  the  best  possible  use  of  the  food 
to  create  blood,  muscle,  strength,  energy,  in  a  word — 
Life. 

"  Since  you  have  digested  your  food  properly,  the 
excretory  functions  will  be  normally  performed.  This 
will  take  place  every  morning  immediately  on  rising, 
and  without  your  having  recourse  to  any  laxative 
medicine  or  artificial  means  of  any  kind. 

"  Every  night  you  will  fall  asleep  at  the  hour  you 
wish,  and  will  continue  to  sleep  until  the  hour  at  which 
you  desire  to  wake  next  morning.  Your  sleep  will 
be  calm,  peaceful  and  profound,  untroubled  by  bad 
dreams  or  undesirable  states  of  body.  You  may 
dream,  but  your  dreams  will  be  pleasant  ones.  On 
waking  you  will  feel  well,  bright,  alert,  eager  for  the 
day's  tasks. 

"  If  in  the  past  you  have  been  subject  to  depression, 
gloom  and  melancholy  forebodings,  you  will  hence- 
forward be  free  from  such  troubles.  Instead  of  be- 
ing moody,  anxious  and  depressed,  you  will  be  cheerful 


THE  CLINIC  OF  EMILE  COUE  25 

and  happy.  You  will  be  happy  even  if  you  have  no 
particular  reason  for  being  so,  just  as  in  the  past  you 
were,  without  good  reason,  unhappy.  I  tell  you  even 
that  if  you  have  serious  cause  to  be  worried  or  de- 
pressed, you  will  not  be  so. 

"If  you  have  been  impatient  or  ill-tempered,  you 
will  no  longer  be  anything  of  the  kind ;  on  the  contrary, 
you  will  always  be  patient  and  self-controlled.  The 
happenings  which  used  to  irritate  you  will  leave  you 
entirely  calm  and  unmoved. 

"If  you  have  sometimes  been  haunted  by  evil  and 
unwholesome  ideas,  by  fears  or  phobias,  these  ideas 
will  gradually  cease  to  occupy  your  mind.  They  will 
melt  away  like  a  cloud.  As  a  dream  vanishes  when 
we  wake,  so  will  these  vain  images  disappear. 

"  I  add  that  all  your  organs  do  their  work  perfectly. 
Your  heart  beats  normally  and  the  circulation  of  the 
blood  takes  place  as  it  should.  The  lungs  do  their 
work  well.  The  stomach,  the  intestines,  the  liver,  the 
biliary  duct,  the  kidneys  and  the  bladder,  all  carry  out 
their  functions  correctly.  If  at  present  any  of  the  or- 
gans named  is  out  of  order,  the  disturbance  will  grow 
less  day  by  day,  so  that  within  a  short  space  of  time 
it  will  have  entirely  disappeared,  and  the  organ  will 
have  resumed  its  normal  function. 

"  Further,  if  in  any  organ  there  is  a  structural  lesion, 
it  will  from  this  day  be  gradually  repaired,  and  in  a 
short  period  will  be  completely  restored.  This  will  be 
so  even  if  you  are  unaware  that  the  trouble  exists. 

"  I  must  also  add — and  it  is  extremely  important 
— that  if  in  the  past  you  have  lacked  confidence  in  your- 
self, this  self-distrust  will  gradually  disappear.  You 
will  have  confidence  in  yourself ;  I  repeat,  you  will  have 
confidence.  Your  confidence  will  be  based  on  the 


26     THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

knowledge  of  the  immense  power  which  is  within  you, 
by  which  you  can  accomplish  any  task  of  which  your 
reason  approves.  With  this  confidence  you  will  be 
able  to  do  anything  you  wish  to  do,  provided  it  is 
reasonable,  and  anything  it  is  your  duty  to  do. 

"  When  you  have  any  task  to  perform  you  will 
always  think  that  it  is  easy.  Such  words  as  '  difficult,' 
'  impossible/  *  I  cannot  *  will  disappear  from  your 
vocabulary.  Their  place  will  be  taken  by  this  phrase : 
'  It  is  easy  and  I  can.'  So,  considering  your  work 
easy,  even  if  it  is  difficult  to  others,  it  will  become  easy 
to  you.  You  will  do  it  easily,  without  effort  and  with- 
out fatigue." 

These  general  suggestions  were  succeeded  by  par- 
ticular suggestions  referring  to  the  special  ailments 
from  which  Coue's  patients  were  suffering.  Taking 
each  case  in  turn,  he  allowed  his  hand  to  rest  lightly 
on  the  heads  of  the  sufferers,  while  picturing  to  their 
minds  the  health  and  vigour  with  which  they  would 
soon  be  endowed.  Thus  to  a  woman  with  an  ulcerated 
leg  he  spoke  as  follows:  "  Henceforth  your  organism 
will  do  all  that  is  necessary  to  restore  your  leg  to  per- 
fect health.  It  will  rapidly  heal ;  the  tissues  will  regain 
their  tone;  the  skin  will  be  soft  and  healthy.  In  a 
short  space  of  time  your  leg  will  be  vigorous  and  strong 
and  will  in  future  always  remain  so."  Each  special 
complaint  was  thus  treated  with  a  few  appropriate 
phrases.  When  he  had  finished,  and  the  patients  were 
called  on  to  open  their  eyes,  a  faint  sigh  went  round 
the  room,  as  if  they  were  awaking  reluctantly  from 
a  delicious  dream. 

Coue  now  explained  to  his  patients  that  he  possessed 
no  healing  powers,  and  had  never  healed  a  person  in 
his  life.  They  carried  in  themselves  the  instrument 


THE  CLINIC  OF  EMILE  COUE  27 

of  their  own  well-being.  The  results  they  had  seen 
were  due  to  the  realisation  of  each  patient's  own 
thought.  He  had  been  merely  an  agent  calling  the 
ideas  of  health  into  their  minds.  Henceforth  they 
could,  and  must,  be  the  pilots  of  their  own  destiny. 
He  then  requested  them  to  repeat,  under  conditions 
which  will  be  later  defined,  the  phrase  with  which  his 
name  is  associated :  "  Day  by  day,  in  every  way,  I'm 
getting  better  and  better."  1 

The  sitting  was  at  an  end.  The  patients  rose 
and  crowded  round  Coue,  asking  questions,  thanking 
him,  shaking  him  by  the  hand.  Some  declared  they 
were  already  cured,  some  that  they  were  much  better, 
others  that  they  were  confident  of  cure  in  the  future. 
It  was  as  if  a  burden  of  depression  had  fallen  from 
their  minds.  Those  who  had  entered  with  minds 
crushed  and  oppressed  went  out  with  hope  and  op- 
timism shining  in  their  faces. 

But  Coue  waved  aside  these  too  insistent  admirers, 
and,  beckoning  to  the  three  patients  who  could  not 
walk,  led  them  to  a  corner  of  the  garden  where  there 
was  a  stretch  of  gravel  path  running  beneath  the 
boughs  of  fruit  trees.  Once  more  impressing  on  their 
minds  the  thought  of  strength  and  power,  he  induced 
each  one  to  walk  without  support  down  this  path. 
He  now  invited  them  to  run.  They  hesitated,  but  he 
insisted,  telling  them  that  they  could  run,  that  they 
ought  to  run,  that  they  had  but  to  believe  in  their  own 
power,  and  their  thought  would  be  manifested  in 
action. 

They  started  rather  uncertainly,  but  Coue  followed 

1The  translation  given  here  of  Coue's  formula  differs  slightly 
from  that  popularised  in  England  during  his  visit  of  November, 
1921.  The  above,  however,  is  the  English  version  which  he 
considers  most  suitable. 


28     THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

them  with  persistent  encouragements.  They  began 
to  raise  their  heads,  to  lift  their  feet  from  the  ground 
and  run  with  greater  freedom  and  confidence.  Turn- 
ing at  the  end  of  the  path  they  came  back  at  a  fair 
pace.  Their  movements  were  not  elegant,  but  people 
on  the  further  side  of  fifty  are  rarely  elegant  runners. 
It  was  a  surprising  sight  to  see  these  three  sufferers 
who  had  hobbled  to  the  clinic  on  sticks  now  covering 
the  ground  at  a  full  five  miles  an  hour,  and  laughing 
heartily  at  themselves  as  they  ran.  The  crowd  of 
patients  who  had  collected  broke  into  a  spontaneous 
cheer,  and  Coue,  slipping  modestly  away,  returned  to 
the  fresh  company  of  sufferers  who  awaited  him 
within. 


CHAPTER  II 
A  FEW  OF  COUE'S  CURES 

To  give  the  reader  a  better  idea  of  the  results  which 
Induced  Autosuggestion  is  yielding,  I  shall  here  de- 
scribe a  few  further  cases  of  which  I  was  myself  in 
some  part  a  witness,  and  thereafter  let  some  of  Coue's 
patients  speak  for  themselves  through  the  medium  of 
their  letters. 

At  one  of  the  morning  consultations  which  I  sub- 
sequently attended  was  a  woman  who  had  suffered 
for  five  years  with  dyspepsia.  The  trouble  had  re- 
cently become  so  acute  that  even  the  milk  diet  to  which 
she  was  now  reduced  caused  her  extreme  discomfort. 
Consequently  she  had  become  extremely  thin  and 
anaemic,  was  listless,  easily  tired,  and  suffered  from 
depression.  Early  in  the  proceedings  the  accounts 
given  by  several  patients  of  the  relief  they  had  obtained 
seemed  to  appeal  to  her  imagination.  She  followed 
Coue's  remarks  with  keen  interest,  answered  his  ques- 
tions vivaciously,  and  laughed  very  heartily  at  the 
amusing  incidents  with  which  the  proceedings  were 
interspersed.  About  five  o'clock  on  the  same  after- 
noon I  happened  to  be  sitting  with  Coue  when  this 
woman  asked  to  see  him.  Beaming  with  satisfaction, 
she  was  shown  into  the  room.  She  reported  that  on 
leaving  the  clinic  she  had  gone  to  a  restaurant  in  the 
town  and  ordered  a  table  d'hote  luncheon.  Consci- 
entiously she  had  partaken  of  every  course  from  the 
hors  d'ceuvres  to  the  cafe  noir.  The  meal  had  been 
29 


30      THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

concluded  at  1.30,  and  she  had  so  far  experienced  no 
trace  of  discomfort.  A  few  days  later  this  woman 
returned  to  the  clinic  to  report  that  the  dyspepsia  had 
shown  no  signs  of  reappearing;  that  her  health  and 
spirits  were  improving,  and  that  she  looked  upon  her- 
self as  cured. 

On  another  occasion  one  of  the  patients  complained 
of  asthma.  The  paroxysms  destroyed  his  sleep  at 
night  and  prevented  him  from  performing  any  task 
which  entailed  exertion.  Walking  upstairs  was  a  slow 
process  attended  by  considerable  distress.  The  ex- 
periment with  the  hands  was  so  successfully  performed 
that  Coue  assured  him  of  immediate  relief. 

"  Before  you  go,"  he  said,  "  you  will  run  up  and 
down  those  stairs  without  suffering  any  inconvenience." 

At  the  close  of  the  consultation,  under  the  influence 
of  the  suggestion  "  I  can,"  the  patient  did  this  without 
difficulty.  That  night  the  trouble  recurred  in  a  mild 
form,  but  he  continued  to  attend  the  clinic  and  to 
practise  the  exercises  at  home,  and  within  a  fortnight 
the  asthma  had  finally  left  him. 

Among  other  patients  with  whom  I  conversed  was  a 
young  man  suffering  from  curvature  of  the  spine.  He 
had  been  attending  the  clinic  for  four  months  and  prac- 
tising the  method  at  home.  His  doctor  assured  him 
that  the  spine  was  gradually  resuming  its  normal  posi- 
tion. A  girl  of  twenty-two  had  suffered  from  child- 
hood with  epileptic  fits,  recurring  at  intervals  of  a  few 
weeks.  Since  her  first  visit  to  the  clinic  six  months 
previously  the  fits  had  ceased. 

But  the  soundest  testimony  to  the  power  of  Induced 
Autosuggestion  is  that  borne  by  the  patients  them- 
selves. Here  are  a  few  extracts  from  letters  received 
by  Coue: 


A  FEW  OF  COUE'S  CURES  31 

"  At  the  age  of  sixty-three,  attacked  for  more  than 
thirty  years  by  asthma  and  all  the  complications  at- 
tendant upon  it,  I  spent  three-quarters  of  the  night 
sitting  on  my  bed  inhaling  the  smoke  of  anti-asthma 
powders.  Afflicted  with  almost  daily  attacks,  espe- 
cially during  the  cold  and  damp  seasons,  I  was  unable 
to  walk — I  could  not  even  go  down  hill. 

Nowadays  I  have  splendid  nights,  and  have  put 
the  powders  in  a  drawer.  Without  the  slightest  hesita- 
tion I  can  go  upstairs  to  the  first  floor." 

D.    (Mont  de  Marsan.) 

15  December,  1921. 

"  Yesterday  I  felt  really  better,  that  is  to  say,  of 
my  fever,  so  I  decided  to  go  back  to  my  doctor,  whom 
I  had  not  seen  since  the  summer.  The  examination 
showed  a  normal  appendix.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
bladder  is  still  painful,  but  is  better.  At  any  rate, 
there  is  at  present  no  question  of  the  operation  which 
had  worried  me  so  much.  I  am  convinced  that  I 
shall  cure  myself  completely." 

M.  D.    (Mulhouse.) 

24  September,  1921. 

"  I  have  very  good  news  to  give  you  of  your  dipso- 
maniac— she  is  cured,  and  asserts  it  herself  to  all  who 
will  listen.  She  told  me  yesterday  that  for  fourteen 
years  she  had  not  been  so  long  without  drink  as  she 
has  been  lately,  and  what  surprises  her  so  much  is  that 
she  has  not  had  to  struggle  against  a  desire;  she  has 
simply  not  felt  the  need  of  drink.  Further,  her  sleep 
continues  to  be  splendid.  She  is  getting  more  and 
more  calm,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  on  several  occasions 
her  sang-froid  has  been  severely  tested.  To  put  the 


32      THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

matter  in  a  nutshell,  she  is  a  changed  woman.  But 
what  impresses  me  most  is  the  fact  that  when  she 
took  to  your  method  she  thought  herself  at  the  end  of 
her  tether,  and  in  the  event  of  its  doing  her  no  good 
had  decided  to  kill  herself  (she  had  already  attempted 
it  once)." 

P.  (a  Paris  doctor.) 
I  February,  1922. 

"  For  eight  years  I  suffered  with  prolapse  of  the 
uterus.  I  have  used  your  method  of  Autosuggestion 
for  the  last  five  months,  and  am  now  completely  cured, 
for  which  I  do  not  know  how  to  thank  you  enough." 

S.     (Toul).1 

"  I  have  a  son  who  came  back  from  Germany  very 
anaemic  and  suffering  from  terrible  depression.  He 
went  to  see  you  for  a  short  time,  and  now  is  as  well 
as  possible.  Please  accept  my  best  thanks.  I  have 
also  a  little  cousin  whom  you  have  cured.  He  had  a 
nervous  illness,  and  had  become,  so  to  speak,  uncon- 
scious of  what  was  going  on  around  him.  He  is  now 
completely  cured." 

S.  E.    (Circourt,  Vosges.) 

19  October,  1921. 

"  My  wife  and  I  have  waited  nearly  a  year  to  thank 
you  for  the  marvellous  cure  which  your  method  has 
accomplished.  The  very  violent  attacks  of  asthma 

1  This  letter,  together  with  the  two  quoted  on  page  34,  is  re- 
printed from  the  Bulletin  de  la  Societe  Lorraine  de  Psychologic 
Appliquee  of  April,  1921.  They  were  received  by  Coue  during 
the  preceding  three  months.  The  other  letters  were  communi- 
cated to  me  privately  by  Coue  and  bear  their  original  dates. — 


A  FEW  OF  COUE'S  CURES  33 

from  which  my  wife  suffered  have  completely  disap- 
peared since  the  visit  you  paid  us  last  spring.  The  first 
few  weeks  my  wife  experienced  temporary  oppression 
and  even  the  beginnings  of  an  attack,  which,  however, 
she  was  able  to  ward  off  within  a  few  minutes  by  prac- 
tising Autosuggestion. 

In  spite  of  her  great  desire  to  thank  you  sooner 
my  wife  wished  to  add  more  weight  to  her  testimony 
by  waiting  for  nearly  a  year.  But  the  bad  time  for 
asthma  has  not  brought  the  slightest  hint  of  the  ter- 
rible attacks  from  which  you  saved  her." 

J.  H.    (Saarbruck.) 

23  December,  1921. 

"  All  the  morbid  symptoms  from  which  I  used  to 
suffer  have  disappeared.  I  used  to  feel  as  though 
I  had  a  band  of  iron  across  my  brain  which  seemed 
to  be  red-hot ;  added  to  this  I  had  heartburn  and  bad 
nights  with  fearful  dreams;  further,  I  was  subject  to 
severe  nervous  attacks  which  went  on  for  months.  I 
felt  as  though  pegs  were  being  driven  into  the  sides 
of  my  head  and  nape  of  my  neck,  and  when  I  felt  I 
could  not  endure  these  agonies  any  longer  a  feeling 
would  come  as  if  my  brain  were  being  smothered  in  a 
blanket.  All  these  pains  came  and  went.  I  had 
sometimes  one,  sometimes  others.  There  were  occa- 
sions when  I  wanted  to  die — my  sufferings  were  so 
acute,  and  I  had  to  struggle  against  the  idea  with  great 
firmness. 

At  last,  having  spent  five  weeks  at  Nancy  attending 
your  kindly  sittings,  I  have  profited  so  well  as  to  be 
able  to  return  home  in  a  state  of  normal  health." 

N.    (Pithiviviers  le  Vieil.) 

1 6  August,  1921. 


34     THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

"  After  having  undergone  four  operations  on  the 
left  leg  for  local  tuberculosis  I  fell  a  victim  once  more 
to  the  same  trouble  on  I  September,  1920.  Several 
doctors  whom  I  consulted  declared  a  new  operation 
necessary.  My  leg  was  to  be  opened  from  the  knee 
to  the  ankle,  and  if  the  operation  failed  nothing  re- 
mained but  an  amputation. 

Having  heard  of  your  cures,  I  came  to  see  you 
for  the  first  time  on  6  November,  1920.  After  the 
sitting  I  felt  at  once  a  little  better.  I  followed  your 
instructions  exactly,  visiting  you  three  times.  At  the 
third  time  I  was  able  to  tell  you  that  I  was  completely 
cured." 

L.    (Herny,  Lorraine.) 

"  I  am  happy  to  tell  you  that  a  bunion  that  I  had 
on  my  foot,  which  grew  to  a  considerable  size  and 
gave  me  the  most  acute  pain  for  over  fifteen  years,  has 
gone." 

L.  G.  (Cauderan,  Gironde.) 

"  I  cannot  leave  France  without  letting  you  know 
how  grateful  I  feel  for  the  immense  service  you  have 
rendered  me  and  mine.  I  only  wish  I  had  met  you 
years  ago.  Practically  throughout  my  career  my  curse 
has  been  a  lack  of  continuous  self-control. 

I  have  been  accused  of  being  almost  brilliant  at 
times,  only  to  be  followed  by  periodic  relapses  into 
a  condition  of  semi-imbecility  and  self-indulgence. 

I  have  done  my  best  to  ruin  a  magnificent  consti- 
tution, and  have  wasted  the  abilities  bestowed  upon 
me.  In  a  few  short  days  you  have  made  me — and  I 
feel  permanently — master  of  myself.  How  can  I 
thank  you  sufficiently? 


A  FEW  OF  COUE'S  CURES  35 

The  rapidity  of  my  complete  cure  may  have  been 
due  to  what  at  the  time  I  regarded  as  an  unfortunate 
accident.  Slipping  on  the  snow-covered  steps  of  the 
train  when  alighting,  I  sprained  my  right  knee  badly. 
At  the  breakfast  table,  before  paying  you  my  first  visit, 
a  fellow-guest  said  to  me :  *  Tell  Monsieur  Coue  about 
it.  He  will  put  it  all  right/ 

I  laughed  and  said  'Umph!'  to  myself,  and  more 
for  the  fun  of  the  thing  than  anything  else  did  tell 
you.  I  remember  you  remarking  '  That's  nothing,' 
and  passing  on  to  the  more  serious  part  of  our  con- 
versation, preliminary  to  commencing  your  lecture  to 
the  assembled  patients. 

I  became  more  than  interested,  and  when  at  the 
conclusion  you  suddenly  turned  round  and  asked  me: 
'  How's  your  knee?'  (not  having  alluded  to  knees  in 
particular),  and  I  discovered  there  wasn't  a  knee,  I 
laughed  again,  as  did  those  who  saw  me  hobble  into 
your  room;  but  I  laughed  this  time  from  a  sense  of 
bewildered  surprise  and  dawning  belief.  This  belief 
you  very  soon  firmly  implanted  in  me." 

G.  H.    (London.) 

ii  January,  1922. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE    CHILDREN'S    CLINIC 

IN  different  parts  of  France  a  little  band  of  workers, 
recruited  almost  exclusively  from  the  ranks  of  former 
patients,  is  propagating  the  ideas  of  Emile  Coue  with 
a  success  which  almost  rivals  that  of  their  master. 
Among  these  helpers  none  is  more  devoted  or  more 
eminently  successful  than  Mile.  Kauffmant.  She  it 
is  who,  at  the  time  of  my  visit,  was  managing  the 
children's  department  of  the  Nancy  clinic.1 

While  Coue  was  holding  his  consultations  on  the 
ground  floor,  young  mothers  in  twos  and  threes,  with 
their  babies  in  their  arms,  could  be  seen  ascending  to 
the  upper  story,  where  a  little  drama  was  performed 
of  a  very  different  nature  from  that  going  on  below. 

In  a  large  room,  decorated  with  bright  pictures  and 
equipped  with  toys,  a  number  of  silent  young  women 
were  seated  in  a  wide  circle.  Their  sick  children  lay 
in  their  arms  or  played  at  their  feet.  Here  was  a  child 
whose  life  was  choked  at  the  source  by  hereditary 
disease — a  small  bundle  of  skin  and  bone  with  limbs 
like  bamboo  canes.  Another  lay  motionless  with 
closed  eyes  and  a  deathly  face,  as  if  pining  to  return 
to  the  world  it  came  from.  A  little  cripple  dragged 
behind  it  a  deformed  leg  as  it  tried  to  crawl,  and 
near  by  a  child  of  five  was  beating  the  air  with  its  thin 
arms  in  an  exhausting  nervous  storm.  Older  children 
were  also  present,  suffering  from  eye  and  ear  trouble, 
epilepsy,  rickets,  any  one  of  the  ailments,  grave  or 
slight,  to  which  growing  life  is  subjected. 

1  Since  this  time    (July,    1921),   the  clinic  has  been   in    some  respects   re- 
organized and  Mile.  Kauffmant  is  now  pursuing  her  work   independently. 

36 


THE  CHILDREN'S  CLINIC  37 

In  the  centre  of  this  circle  sat  a  young  woman  with 
dark  hair  and  a  kindly  keen  face.  On  her  lap  was  a 
little  boy  of  four  years  with  a  club  foot.  As  she  gently 
caressed  the  foot,  from  which  the  clumsy  boot  had  been 
removed,  she  told  in  a  crooning  tone,  mingled  with  en- 
dearing phrases,  of  the  rapid  improvement  which  had 
already  begun  and  would  soon  be  complete.  The  foot 
was  getting  better;  the  joints  were  more  supple  and 
bent  with  greater  ease;  the  muscles  were  developing, 
the  tendons  were  drawing  the  foot  into  the  right  shape 
and  making  it  straight  and  strong.  Soon  it  would  be 
perfectly  normal;  the  little  one  would  walk  and  run, 
play  with  other  children,  skip  and  bowl  hoops.  He 
would  go  to  school  and  learn  his  lessons,  would  be 
intelligent  and  receptive.  She  told  him  too  that  he 
was  growing  obedient,  cheerful,  kind  to  others,  truth- 
ful and  courageous.  The  little  boy  had  put  one  arm 
round  her  neck  and  was  listening  with  a  placid  smile. 
His  face  was  quite  contented ;  he  was  enjoying  himself. 

While  Mile.  Kauffmant  was  thus  engaged,  the  women 
sat  silent  watching  her  intently,  each  perhaps  mentally 
seeing  her  own  little  one  endowed  with  the  qualities 
depicted.  The  children  were  quiet,  some  dreamily 
listening,  some  tranquilly  playing  with  a  toy.  Except 
for  an  occasional  word  of  advice  Mademoiselle  was 
quite  indifferent  to  them.  Her  whole  attention  was 
given  to  the  child  on  her  knee;  her  thought  went  out 
to  him  in  a  continual  stream,  borne  along  by  a  current 
of  love  and  compassion,  for  she  has  devoted  her  life 
to  the  children  and  loves  them  as  if  they  were  her 
own.  The  atmosphere  of  the  room  was  more  like  that 
of  a  church  than  a  hospital.  The  mothers  seemed  to 
have  left  their  sorrows  outside.  Their  faces  showed 
in  varying  degrees  an  expression  of  quiet  confidence. 


38      THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

When  this  treatment  had  continued  for  about  ten 
minutes,  Mile.  Kauffmant  returned  the  child  to  its 
mother  and,  after  giving  her  a  few  words  of  advice, 
turned  to  her  next  patient.  This  was  an  infant  of  less 
than  twelve  months.  While  suffering  from  no  specific 
disease  it  was  continually  ailing.  It  was  below  normal 
weight,  various  foods  had  been  tried  unsuccessfully, 
and  medical  advice  had  failed  to  bring  about  an  im- 
provement. Mademoiselle  resumed  her  seat  with  the 
child  on  her  lap.  For  some  time  the  caresses,  which 
were  applied  to  the  child's  head  and  body,  continued 
in  silence.  Then  she  began  to  talk  to  it.  Her  talk  did 
not  consist  of  connected  sentences,  as  with  the  elder 
child  who  had  learned  to  speak,  but  of  murmured 
assurances,  as  if  her  thoughts  were  taking  uncon- 
sciously the  form  of  words.  These  suggestions  were 
more  general  than  in  the  previous  case,  bearing  on 
appetite,  digestion,  assimilation,  and  on  desirable 
mental  and  moral  qualities.  The  caress  continued  for 
about  ten  minutes,  the  speech  was  intermittent,  then 
the  infant  was  returned  to  its  mother  and  Made- 
moiselle turned  her  attention  to  another  little  sufferer. 

With  patients  who  are  not  yet  old  enough  to  speak 
Mile.  Kauffmant  sometimes  trusts  to  the  caress  alone. 
It  seems  to  transmit  the  thoughts  of  health  quite 
strongly  enough  to  turn  the  balance  in  the  child's  mind 
on  the  side  of  health.  But  all  mothers  talk  to  their 
children  long  before  the  words  they  use  are  under- 
stood, and  Mile.  Kauffmant,  whose  attitude  is  essen- 
tially maternal,  reserves  to  herself  the  same  right. 
She  adheres  to  no  rigid  rule;  if  she  wishes  to  speak 
aloud  she  does  so,  even  when  the  child  cannot  grasp 
the  meaning  of  her  words. 

This  is  perhaps  the  secret  of  her  success :  her  method 


THE  CHILDREN'S  CLINIC  39 

is  plastic  like  the  minds  she  works  on.  Coue's  mate- 
rial— the  adult  mind — is  more  stable.  It  demands  a 
clear-cut,  distinct  method,  and  leaves  less  room  for 
adaptation;  but  the  aim  of  Mile.  Kauffmant  is  to  fill 
the  child  within  and  enwrap  it  without  with  the  crea- 
tive thoughts  of  health  and  joy.  To  this  end  she  en- 
lists any  and  every  means  within  her  power.  The 
child  itself,  as  soon  as  it  is  old  enough  to  speak,  is  re- 
quired to  say,  morning  and  night,  the  general  formula : 
"  Day  by  day,  in  every  way,  I'm  getting  better  and  bet- 
ter." If  it  is  confined  to  its  bed,  it  is  encouraged  to 
repeat  this  at  any  time  and  to  make  suggestions  of 
health  similar  to  those  formulated  in  the  sittings.  No 
special  directions  are  given  as  to  how  this  should  be 
done.  Elaborate  instructions  would  only  introduce 
hindersome  complications.  Imagination,  the  power  to 
pretend,  is  naturally  strong  and  active  in  all  children, 
and  intuitively  they  make  use  of  it  in  their  autosug- 
gestions. Moreover,  they  unconsciously  imitate  the 
tone  and  manner  of  their  instructress. 

But  the  centre  of  the  child's  universe  is  the  mother. 
Any  system  which  did  not  utilise  her  influence  would 
be  losing  its  most  powerful  ally.  The  mother  is  en- 
couraged during  the  day  to  set  an  example  of  cheerful- 
ness and  confidence,  to  allude  to  the  malady  only  in 
terms  of  encouragement — so  renewing  in  the  child's 
mind  the  prospect  of  recovery — and  to  exclude  as  far 
as  possible  all  depressing  influences  from  its  vicinity. 
At  night  she  is  required  to  enter  the  child's  bedcham- 
ber without  waking  the  little  one  and  to  whisper  good 
suggestions  into  its  sleeping  ear.  Thus  Mile.  Kauff- 
mant concentrates  a  multiplicity  of  means  to  bring 
about  the  same  result.  In  this  she  is  aided  by  the  ex- 
treme acceptivity  of  the  child's  mind,  and  by  the  ab- 


40     THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

sence  of  that  mass  of  pernicious  spontaneous  sugges- 
tions which  in  the  adult  mind  have  to  be  neutralised 
and  transformed.  It  is  in  children,  then,  that  the  most 
encouraging  results  may  be  expected.  I  will  quote 
three  cases  which  I  myself  investigated  to  show  the 
kind  of  results  Mile.  Kauffmant  obtains : 

A  little  girl  was  born  without  the  power  of  sight. 
The  visual  organs  were  intact,  but  she  was  incapable 
of  lifting  her  eye-lids  and  so  remained  blind  to  all 
intents  and  purposes  up  to  her  seventh  year.  She 
was  then  brought  by  the  mother  to  Mile.  Kauffmant. 
After  a  fortnight's  treatment  the  child  began  to  blink ; 
gradually  this  action  became  more  frequent,  and  a 
month  after  the  treatment  began  she  could  see  well 
enough  to  find  her  way  unaided  about  the  streets. 
When  I  saw  her  she  had  learnt  to  distinguish  colours 
— as  my  own  experiments  proved — and  was  actually 
playing  ball.  The  details  supplied  by  Mile.  Kauffmant 
were  confirmed  by  the  mother. 

A  child  was  born  whose  tuberculous  father  had  died 
during  the  mother's  pregnancy.  Of  five  brothers  and 
sisters  none  had  survived  the  first  year.  The  doctors 
to  whom  the  child  was  taken  held  out  no  hope  for  its 
life.  It  survived,  however,  to  the  age  of  two,  but  was 
crippled  and  nearly  blind,  in  addition  to  internal  weak- 
nesses. It  was  then  brought  to  Mile.  Kauffmant. 
Three  months  later,  when  I  saw  it,  nothing  remained 
of  its  troubles  but  a  slight  squint  and  a  stiffness  in  one 
of  its  knee-joints.  These  conditions,  too,  were  rapidly 
diminishing. 

Another  child,  about  nine  years  of  age,  also  of 
tuberculous  parents,  was  placed  under  her  treatment. 
One  leg  was  an  inch  and  a  half  shorter  than  the  other. 
After  a  few  months'  treatment  this  disparity  had  al- 


THE  CHILDREN'S  CLINIC  41 

most  disappeared.  The  same  child  had  a  wound,  also 
of  tuberculous  origin,  on  the  small  of  the  back,  which 
healed  over  in  a  few  weeks  and  had  completely  dis- 
appeared when  I  saw  her. 

In  each  of  the  above  cases  the  general  state  of  health 
showed  a  great  improvement.  The  child  put  on 
weight,  was  cheerful  and  bright  even  under  the  try- 
ing conditions  of  convalescence  in  a  poverty-stricken 
home,  and  in  character  and  disposition  fully  realised 
the  suggestions  formulated  to  it. 

Since  the  suggestions  of  Mile.  Kauffmant  are  ap- 
plied individually,  the  mothers  were  permitted  to  enter 
and  leave  the  clinic  at  any  time  they  wished.  Made- 
moiselle was  present  on  certain  days  every  week,  but 
this  was  not  the  sum  of  her  labours.  The  greater  part 
of  her  spare  time  was  spent  in  visiting  the  little  ones 
in  their  own  homes.  She  penetrated  into  the  dingiest 
tenements,  the  poorest  slums,  on  this  errand  of  mercy. 
I  was  able  to  accompany  her  on  several  of  these  visits, 
and  saw  her  everywhere  received  not  only  with  wel- 
come, but  with  a  respect  akin  to  awe.  She  was  re- 
garded, almost  as  much  as  Coue  himself,  as  a  worker 
of  miracles.  But  the  reputation  of  both  Coue  and 
Mile.  Kauffmant  rests  on  a  broader  basis  even  than 
autosuggestion,  namely  on  their  great  goodness  of 
heart. 

They  have  placed  not  only  their  private  means, 
but  their  whole  life  at  the  service  of  others.  Neither 
ever  accepts  a  penny-piece  for  the  treatments  they 
give,  and  I  have  never  seen  Coue  refuse  to  give  a 
treatment  at  however  awkward  an  hour  the  subject 
may  have  asked  it.  The  fame  of  the  school  has  now 
spread  to  all  parts  not  only  of  France,  but  of  Europe 
and  America.  Coue's  work  has  assumed  such  t>ro- 


42     THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

portions  that  his  time  is  taken  up  often  to  the  extent 
of  fifteen  or  sixteen  hours  a  day.  He  is  now  nearing 
his  seventieth  year,  but  thanks  to  the  health-giving 
powers  of  his  own  method  he  is  able  to  keep  abreast 
of  his  work  without  any  sign  of  fatigue  and  without 
the  clouding  of  his  habitual  cheerfulness  by  even  the 
shadow  of  a  complaint.  In  fact,  he  is  a  living  monu- 
ment to  the  efficacy  of  Induced  Autosuggestion. 

It  will  be  seen  that  Induced  Autosuggestion  is  a 
method  by  which  the  mind  can  act  directly  upon  itself 
and  upon  the  body  to  produce  whatever  improvements, 
in  reason,  we  desire.  That  it  is  efficient  and  success- 
ful should  be  manifest  from  what  has  gone  before. 
Of  all  the  questions  which  arise,  the  most  urgent  from 
the  viewpoint  of  the  average  man  seems  to  be  this 
— Is  a  suggester  necessary?  Must  one  submit  one- 
self to  the  influence  of  some  other  person,  or  can 
one  in  the  privacy  of  one's  own  chamber  exercise  with 
equal  success  this  potent  instrument  of  health? 

Coue's  own  opinion  has  already  been  quoted.  In- 
duced Autosuggestion  is  not  dependent  upon  the 
mediation  of  another  person.  We  can  practise  it  for 
ourselves  without  others  being  even  aware  of  what 
we  are  doing,  and  without  devoting  to  it  more  than  a 
few  minutes  of  each  day. 

Here  are  a  few  quotations  from  letters  written  by 
those  who  have  thus  practised  it  for  themselves. 

"  For  a  good  many  years  now  a  rheumatic  right 
shoulder  has  made  it  impossible  for  me  to  sleep  on 
my  right  side  and  it  seriously  affected,  and  increasingly 
so,  the  use  of  my  right  arm.  A  masseuse  told  me  she 
could  effect  no  permanent  improvement  as  there  was 
granulation  of  the  joints  and  a  lesion.  I  suddenly 


THE  CHILDREN'S  CLINIC  43 

realised  two  days  ago  that  this  shoulder  no  longer 
troubled  me  and  that  I  was  sleeping  on  that  side  with- 
out any  pain.  I  have  now  lost  any  sensation  of  rheu- 
matism in  this  shoulder  and  can  get  my  right  arm 
back  as  far  as  the  other  without  the  slightest  twinge 
or  discomfort.  I  have  not  applied  any  remedy  or  done 
anything  that  could  possibly  have  worked  these  re- 
sults except  my  practise  of  Coue." 

L.  S.  (Sidmouth,  Devon). 
I  January,  1922. 


"  At  my  suggestion  a  lady  friend  of  mine  who  had 
been  ill  for  a  good  ten  years  read  La  Maitrise  de  soi- 
meme.  I  encouraged  her  as  well  as  I  could,  and  in  a 
month  she  was  transformed.  Her  husband,  return- 
ing from  a  long  journey,  could  not  believe  his  eyes. 
This  woman  who  never  got  up  till  midday,  who  never 
left  the  fire-side,  whom  the  doctors  had  given  up, 
now  goes  out  at  10  a.m.  even  in  the  greatest  cold. 
Other  friends  are  anxiously  waiting  to  read  your  pam- 
phlet. 

L.  C.  (Paris). 

17  December,  1921. 

"  I  am  very  much  interested  in  your  method,  and 
since  your  lecture  I  have,  every  night  and  morning, 
repeated  your  little  phrase.  I  used  to  have  to  take 
a  pill  every  night,  but  now  my  constipation  is  cured 
and  the  pills  are  no  longer  necessary.  My  wife  is  also 
much  better  in  every  way.  We've  both  got  the  bit  of 
string  with  twenty  knots." 

H.  (a  London  doctor). 

7  January,  1922. 


44      THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

"  Your  method  is  doing  me  more  good  every  day. 
I  don't  know  how  to  thank  you  for  the  happiness  I 
now  experience.  I  shall  never  give  up  repeating  the 
little  phrase." 

E.  B.  Guievain  (Belgium). 

23  November,  1921. 

"  I  have  followed  your  principles  for  several 
months  and  freed  myself  from  a  terrible  state  of 
neurasthenia  which  was  the  despair  of  my  three 
doctors." 

G.  (Angouleme). 

23  January,  1922. 

"  My  friend  Miss  C.  completely  cured  herself  of  a 
rheumatic  shoulder  and  knee  in  a  very  short  time, 
and  then  proceeded  to  turn  her  attention  to  her  eye- 
sight. 

She  had  worn  spectacles  for  30  years  and  her  left 
eye  was  much  more  short-sighted  than  her  right. 
When  she  began  she  could  only  read  (without  her 
glasses  and  with  her  left  eye)  when  the  book  was 
almost  touching  her  face.  In  six  weeks  she  had  ex- 
tended the  limit  of  vision  so  that  she  saw  as  far  with 
the  left  as  formerly  with  the  right.  Meanwhile  the 
right  had  improved  equally.  She  measured  the  dis- 
tances every  week,  and  when  she  was  here  a  few  days 
ago  she  told  me  she  had  in  three  days  gained  4  centi- 
metres with  her  left  and  6  centimetres  with  her  right 
eye.  She  had  done  this  on  her  own." 

G.  (London). 

5  January,  1922. 


II 

THE  NATURE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 


CHAPTER  IV 
THOUGHT  IS  A  FORCE 

AUTOSUGGESTION  is  not  a  pseudo-religion  like  Chris- 
tian Science  or  "  New  Thought."  It  is  a  scientific 
method  based  on  the  discoveries  of  psychology.  The 
traditional  psychology  was  regarded  by  the  layman, 
not  without  some  cause,  as  a  dull  and  seemingly  use- 
less classification  of  our  conscious  faculties.  But 
within  the  past  twenty-five  years  the  science  has  un- 
dergone a  great  change.  A  revolution  has  taken  place 
in  it  which  seems  likely  to  provoke  a  revolution  equally 
profound  in  the  wider  limits  of  our  common  life. 
From  a  preoccupation  with  the  conscious  it  has  turned 
to  the  Unconscious  (or  subconscious),  to  the  vast  area 
of  mental  activity  which  exists  outside  the  circle  of 
our  awareness.  In  doing  so  it  has  grasped  at  the  very 
roots  of  life  itself,  has  groped  down  to  the  depths 
where  the  "  life-force,"  the  elan  vital,  touches  our  in- 
dividual being.  What  this  may  entail  in  the  future 
we  can  only  dimly  guess.  Just  as  the  discovery  of 
America  altered  the  balance  of  the  Old  World,  shift- 
ing it  westward  to  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic,  so  the 
discovery  and  investigation  of  the  Unconscious  seems 
destined  to  shift  the  balance  of  human  life. 

Obviously,  this  is  no  place  to  embark  on  the  dis- 
cussion of  a  subject  of  such  extreme  complexity.  The 
investigation  of  the  Unconscious  is  a  science  in  itself, 
in  which  different  schools  of  thought  are  seeking  to 
disengage  a  basis  of  fact  from  conflicting  and  daily 

47 


48     THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

changing  theories.  But  there  is  a  certain  body  of 
fact,  experimentally  proven,  on  which  the  authorities 
agree,  and  of  this  we  quote  a  few  features  which  di- 
rectly interest  us  as  students  of  autosuggestion. 

The  Unconscious  is  the  storehouse  of  memory, 
where  every  impression  we  receive  from  earliest  in- 
fancy to  the  last  hour  of  life  is  recorded  with  the 
minutest  accuracy.  These  memories,  however,  are  not 
inert  and  quiescent,  like  the  marks  on  the  vulcanite 
records  of  a  gramophone ;  they  are  vitally  active,  each 
one  forming  a  thread  in  the  texture  of  our  person- 
ality. The  sum  of  all  these  impressions  is  the  man 
himself,  the  ego,  the  form  through  which  the  general 
life  is  individualised.  The  outer  man  is  but  a  mask; 
the  real  self  dwells  behind  the  veil  of  the  Unconscious. 

The  Unconscious  is  also  a  power-house.  It  is  domi- 
nated by  feeling,  and  feeling  is  the  force  which  im- 
pels our  lives.  It  provides  the  energy  for  conscious 
thought  and  action,  and  for  the  performance  of  the 
vital  processes  of  the  body. 

Finally  the  Unconscious  plays  the  part  of  supervisor 
over  our  physical  processes.  Digestion,  assimilation, 
the  circulation  of  the  blood,  the  action  of  the  lungs, 
the  kidneys  and  all  the  vital  organs  are  controlled  by 
its  agency.  Our  organism  is  not  a  clockwork  machine 
which  once  wound  up  will  run  of  itself.  Its  processes 
in  all  their  complexity  are  supervised  by  mind.  It  is 
not  the  intellect,  however,  which  does  this  work,  but 
the  Unconscious.  The  intellect  still  stands  aghast  be- 
fore the.problem  of  the  human  body,  lost  like  Pascal 
in  the  profundities  of  analysis,  each  discovery  only 
revealing  new  depths  of  mystery.  But  the  Uncon- 
scious seems  to  be  familiar  with  it  in  every  detail. 

It  may  be  added  that  the  Unconscious  never  sleeps ; 


THOUGHT  IS  A  FORCE  49 

during  the  sleep  of  the  conscious  it  seems  to  be  more 
vigilant  than  during  our  waking  hours. 

In  comparison  with  these,  the  powers  of  the  con- 
scious mind  seem  almost  insignificant.  Derived  from 
the  Unconscious  during  the  process  of  evolution,  the 
conscious  is,  as  it  were,  the  antechamber  where  the 
crude  energies  of  the  Unconscious  are  selected  and 
adapted  for  action  on  the  world  outside  us.  In  the 
past  we  have  unduly  exaggerated  the  importance  of 
the  conscious  intellect.  To  claim  for  it  the  discoveries 
of  civilisation  is  to  confuse  the  instrument  with  the 
agent,  to  attribute  sight  to  the  field-glass  instead  of  to 
the  eye  behind  it.  The  value  of  the  conscious  mind 
must  not  be  underrated,  however.  It  is  a  machine  of 
the  greatest  value,  the  seat  of  reason,  the  social  in- 
stincts and  moral  concepts.  But  it  is  a  machine  and 
not  the  engine,  nor  yet  the  engineer.  It  provides 
neither  material  nor  power.  These  are  furnished  by 
the  Unconscious. 

These  two  strata  of  mental  life  are  in  perpetual  in- 
teraction one  with  the  other.  Just  as  everything  con- 
scious has  its  preliminary  step  in  the  Unconscious,  so 
every  conscious  thought  passes  down  into  the  lower 
stratum  and  there  becomes  an  element  in  our  being, 
partaking  of  the  Unconscious  energy,  and  playing  its 
part  in  supervising  and  determining  our  mental  and 
bodily  states.  If  it  is  a  healthful  thought  we  are  so 
much  the  better;  if  it  is  a  diseased  one  we  are  so 
much  the  worse.  It  is  this  transformation  of  a  thought 
into  an  element  of  our  life  that  we  call  Autosugges- 
tion. Since  this  is  a  normal  part  of  the  mind's  action 
we  shall  have  no  difficulty  in  finding  evidence  of  it  in 
our  daily  experiences. 

Walking  down  the  street  in  a  gloomy  frame  of  mind 


50     THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

you  meet  a  buoyant,  cheery  acquaintance.  The  mere 
sight  of  his  genial  smile  acts  on  you  like  a  tonic,  and 
when  you  have  chatted  with  him  for  a  few  minutes 
your  gloom  has  disappeared,  giving  place  to  cheerful- 
ness and  confidence.  What  has  effected  this  change? 
— Nothing  other  than  the  idea  in  your  own  mind.  As 
you  watched  his  face,  listened  to  his  good-natured 
voice,  noticed  the  play  of  his  smile,  your  conscious 
mind  was  occupied  by  the  idea  of  cheerfulness.  This 
idea  on  being  transferred  to  the  Unconscious  became 
a  reality,  so  that  without  any  logical  grounds  you  be- 
came cheerful. 

Few  people,  especially  young  people,  are  unac- 
quainted with  the  effects  produced  by  hearing  or  read- 
ing ghost-stories.  You  have  spent  the  evening,  let  us 
say,  at  a  friend's  house,  listening  to  terrifying  tales  of 
apparitions.  At  a  late  hour  you  leave  the  fireside  circle 
to  make  your  way  home.  The  states  of  fear  imaged 
before  your  mind  have  realised  themselves  in  your  Un- 
conscious. You  tread  gingerly  in  the  dark  places, 
hurry  past  the  churchyard  and  feel  a  distinct  relief 
when  the  lights  of  home  come  into  view.  It  is 
the  old  road  you  have  so  often  traversed  with  perfect 
equanimity,  but  its  cheerful  associations  are  over- 
looked and  the  commonest  objects  tinged  with  the 
colour  of  your  subjective  states.  Autosuggestion  can- 
not change  a  post  into  a  spectre,  but  if  you  are  very 
impressionable  it  will  so  distort  your  sensory  impres- 
sions that  common  sounds  seem  charged  with  super- 
natural significance  and  every-day  objects  take  on  ter- 
rifying shapes. 

In  each  of  the  above  examples  the  idea  of  a  mental 
state — cheerfulness  or  fear — was  presented  to  the 
mind.  The  idea  on  reaching  the  Unconscious  became 


THOUGHT  IS  A  FORCE  51 

a  reality;  that  is  to  say,  you  actually  became  cheerful 
or  frightened. 

The  same  process  is  much  easier  to  recognise  where 
the  resultant  is  not  a  mental  but  a  bodily  state. 

One  often  meets  people  who  take  a  delight  in  de- 
scribing with  a  wealth  of  detail  the  disorders  with 
which  they  or  their  friends  are  afflicted.  A  sensitive 
person  is  condemned  by  social  usage  to  listen  to  a 
harrowing  account  of  some  grave  malady.  As  detail 
succeeds  detail  the  listener  feels  a  chilly  discomfort 
stealing  over  him.  He  turns  pale,  breaks  into  a  cold 
perspiration,  and  is  aware  of  an  unpleasant  sensation  at 
the  pit  of  the  stomach.  Sometimes,  generally  where 
the  listener  is  a  child,  actual  vomiting  or  a  fainting 
fit  may  ensue.  These  effects  are  undeniably  physical ; 
to  produce  them  the  organic  processes  must  have  been 
sensibly  disturbed.  Yet  their  cause  lies  entirely  in 
the  idea  of  illness,  which,  ruthlessly  impressed  upon 
the  mind,  realises  itself  in  the  Unconscious. 

This  effect  may  be  so  precise  as  to  reproduce  the 
actual  symptoms  of  the  disease  described.  Medical 
students  engaged  in  the  study  of  some  particular 
malady  frequently  develop  its  characteristic  symptoms. 

Everyone  is  acquainted  with  the  experience  known 
as  "  stage  fright."  The  victim  may  be  a  normal  per- 
son, healthy  both  in  mind  and  body.  He  may  possess 
in  private  life  a  good  voice,  a  mind  fertile  in  ideas  and 
a  gift  of  fluent  expression.  He  may  know  quite  surely 
that  his  audience  is  friendly  and  sympathetic  to  the 
ideas  he  wishes  to  unfold.  But  let  him  mount  the 
steps  of  a  platform.  Immediately  his  knees  begin  to 
tremble  and  his  heart  to  palpitate;  his  mind  becomes 
a  blank  or  a  chaos,  his  tongue  and  lips  refuse  to  frame 
coherent  sounds,  and  after  a  few  stammerings  he  is 


52     THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

forced  to  make  a  ludicrous  withdrawal.  The  cause  of 
this  baffling  experience  lay  in  the  thoughts  which  oc- 
cupied the  subject's  mind  before  his  public  appearance. 
He  was  afraid  of  making  himself  ridiculous.  He  ex- 
pected to  feel  uncomfortable,  feared  that  he  would 
forget  his  speech  or  be  unable  to  express  himself. 
These  negative  ideas,  penetrating  to  the  Unconscious, 
realised  themselves  and  precisely  what  he  feared  took 
place. 

If  you  live  in  a  town  you  have  probably  seen  people 
who,  in  carelessly  crossing  the  street,  find  themselves 
in  danger  of  being  run  down  by  a  vehicle.  In  this 
position  they  sometimes  stand  for  an  appreciable  time 
"  rooted,"  as  we  say,  "  to  the  spot."  This  is  because 
the  danger  seems  so  close  that  they  imagine  themselves 
powerless  to  elude  it.  As  soon  as  this  idea  gives  place 
to  that  of  escape  they  get  out  of  the  way  as  fast  as 
they  can.  If  their  first  idea  persisted,  however,  the 
actual  powerlessness  resulting  from  it  would  likewise 
persist,  and  unless  the  vehicle  stopped  or  turned  aside 
they  would  infallibly  be  run  over. 

One  occasionally  meets  people  suffering  from  a 
nervous  complaint  known  as  St.  Vitus'  Dance.  They 
have  a  disconcerting  habit  of  contorting  their  faces, 
screwing  round  their  necks  or  twitching  their  shoul- 
ders. It  is  a  well  known  fact  that  those  who  come 
into  close  contact  with  them,  living  in  the  same  house 
or  working  in  the  same  office,  are  liable  to  contract 
the  same  habit,  often  performing  the  action  without 
themselves  being  aware  of  it.  This  is  due  to  the  opera- 
tion of  the  same  law.  The  idea  of  the  habit,  being 
repeatedly  presented  to  their  minds,  realises  itself,  and 
they  begin  to  perform  a  similar  movement  in  their 
own  persons. 


THOUGHT  IS  A  FORCE  53 

Examples  of  this  law  present  themselves  at  every 
turn.  Have  you  ever  asked  yourself  why  some  people 
faint  at  the  sight  of  blood,  or  why  most  of  us  turn 
giddy  when  we  look  down  from  a  great  height  ? 

If  we  turn  to  the  sufferers  from  neurosis  we  find 
some  who  have  lost  their  powers  of  speech  or  of 
vision;  some,  like  the  blacksmith  we  saw  in  Coue's 
clinic,  who  have  lost  the  use  of  their  limbs;  others 
suffering  from  a  functional  disturbance  of  one  of  the 
vital  organs.  The  cause  in  each  case  is  nothing  more 
tangible  than  an  idea  which  has  become  realised  in  the 
Unconscious  mind. 

These  instances  show  clearly  enough  that  the 
thoughts  we  think  do  actually  become  realities  in  the 
Unconscious.  But  is  this  a  universal  law,  operating 
in  every  life,  or  merely  something  contingent  and 
occasional?  Sometimes  irrelevant  cheerfulness  seems 
only  to  make  despondency  more  deep.  Certain  types 
of  individual  are  only  irritated  by  the  performance  of 
a  stage  comedy.  Physicians  listen  to  the  circumstan- 
tial accounts  of  their  patients'  ailments  without  being 
in  the  least  upset.  These  facts  seem  at  first  sight  at 
variance  with  the  rule.  But  they  are  only  apparent 
exceptions  which  serve  to  test  and  verify  it.  The 
physical  or  mental  effect  invariably  corresponds  with 
the  idea  present  in  the  mind,  but  this  need  not  be  iden- 
tical with  the  thought  communicated  from  without. 
Sometimes  a  judgment  interposes  itself,  or  it  may  be 
that  the  idea  calls  up  an  associated  idea  which  pos- 
sesses greater  vitality  and  therefore  dislodges  it.  A 
gloomy  person  who  meets  a  cheerful  acquaintance  may 
mentally  contrast  himself  with  the  latter,  setting  his 
own  troubles  beside  the  other's  good  fortune,  his  own 
grounds  for  sadness  beside  the  other's  grounds  for  sat- 


54.     THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

isfaction.  Thus  the  idea  of  his  own  unhappiness  is 
strengthened  and  sinking  into  the  Unconscious  makes 
still  deeper  the  despondency  he  experienced  before. 
In  the  same  way  the  doctor,  listening  to  the  symptoms 
of  a  patient,  does  not  allow  these  distressful  ideas  to 
dwell  in  his  conscious  mind.  His  thought  passes  on 
immediately  to  the  remedy,  to  the  idea  of  the  help  he 
must  give.  Not  only  does  he  manifest  this  helpful- 
ness in  reasoned  action,  but  also,  by  Unconscious  real- 
isation, in  his  very  bearing  and  manner.  Or  his  mind 
may  be  concentrated  on  the  scientific  bearings  of  the 
case,  so  that  he  will  involuntarily  treat  the  patient  as 
a  specimen  on  which  to  pursue  his  researches.  The 
steeplejack  experiences  no  giddiness  or  fear  in  scaling 
a  church  spire  because  the  thought  of  danger  is  im- 
mediately replaced  by  the  knowledge  of  his  own  clear 
head  and  sure  foot. 

This  brings  us  to  a  point  which  is  of  great  prac- 
tical importance  in  the  performance  of  curative  auto- 
suggestion. No  idea  presented  to  the  mind  can  realise 
itself  unless  the  mind  accepts  it. 

Most  of  the  errors  made  hitherto  in  this  field  have 
been  due  to  the  neglect  of  this  fundamental  fact.  If 
a  patient  is  suffering  from  severe  toothache  it  is  not  of 
the  slightest  use  to  say  to  him :  "  You  have  no  pain." 
The  statement  is  so  grossly  opposed  to  the  fact  that 
"acceptation"  is  impossible.  The  patient  will  reject 
the  suggestion,  affirm  the  fact  of  his  suffering,  and  so, 
by  allowing  his  conscious  mind  to  dwell  on  it,  prob- 
ably make  it  more  intense. 

We  are  now  in  a  position  to  formulate  the  basic  law 
of  autosuggestion  as  follows : — 

Every  idea  which  enters  the  conscious  mind,  if  it  is 
accepted  by  the  Unconscioi*s,  is  transformed  by  it  into 


THOUGHT  IS  A  FORCE  55 

a  reality  and  forms  henceforth  a  permanent  element  in 
our  life. 

This  is  the  process  called  "  Spontaneous  Autosug- 
gestion." It  is  a  law  by  which -the  mind  of  man  has 
always  worked,  and  by  which  all  our  minds  are  work- 
ing daily. 

The  reader  will  see  from  the  examples  cited  and 
from  others  which  he  will  constantly  meet  that  the 
thoughts  we  think  determine  not  only  our  mental 
states,  our  sentiments  and  emotions,  but  the  delicate 
actions  and  adjustments  of  our  physical  bodies.  Trem- 
bling, palpitation,  stammering,  blushing — not  to  speak 
of  the  pathological  states  which  occur  in  neurosis — 
are  due  to  modifications  and  changes  in  the  blood-flow, 
in  muscular  action  and  in  the  working  of  the  vital 
organs.  These  changes  are  not  voluntary  and  con- 
scious ones,  they  are  determined  by  the  Unconscious 
and  come  to  us  often  with  a  shock  of  surprise. 

It  must  be  evident  that  if  we  fill  our  conscious 
minds  with  ideas  of  health,  joy,  goodness,  efficiency, 
and  can  ensure  their  acceptation  by  the  Unconscious, 
these  ideas  too  will  become  realities,  capable  of  lifting 
us  on  to  a  new  plane  of  being.  The  difficulty  which 
has  hitherto  so  frequently  brought  these  hopes  to 
naught  is  that  of  ensuring  acceptation.  This  will  be 
treated  in  the  next  chapter. 

To  sum  up,  the  whole  process  of  Autosuggestion 
consists  of  two  steps :  ( I )  The  acceptation  of  an  idea. 
(2)  Its  transformation  into  a  reality.  Both  these 
operations  are  performed  by  the  Unconscious. 
Whether  the  idea  is  originated  in  the  mind  of  the 
subject  or  is  presented  from  without  by  the  agency 
of  another  person  is  a  matter  of  indifference.  In  both 
cases  it  undergoes  the  same  process:  it  is  submitted 


56     THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

to  the  Unconscious,  accepted  or  rejected,  and  so  either 
realised  or  ignored.  Thus  the  distinction  between 
Autosuggestion  and  Heterosuggestion  is  seen  to  be 
both  arbitrary  and  superficial.  In  essentials  all  sug- 
gestion is  Autosuggestion.  The  only  distinction  we 
need  make  is  between  Spontaneous  Autosuggestion, 
which  takes  place  independently  of  our  will  and  choice, 
and  Induced  Autosuggestion,  in  which  we  consciously 
select  the  ideas  we  wish  to  realise  and  purposely  con- 
vey them  to  the  Unconscious. 


CHAPTER  V 
THOUGHT    AND    THE    WILL 

IF  we  can  get  the  Unconscious  to  accept  an  idea,  reali- 
sation follows  automatically.  The  only  difficulty  which 
confronts  us  in  the  practice  of  Induced  Autosuggestion 
is  to  ensure  acceptation,  and  that  is  a  difficulty  which 
no  method  prior  to  that  of  Emile  Coue  has  satisfac- 
torily surmounted. 

Every  idea  which  enters  the  mind  is  charged,  to  a 
greater  or  less  extent,  with  emotion.  This  emotional 
charge  may  be  imperceptible,  as  with  ideas  to  which 
we  are  indifferent,  or  it  may  be  very  great,  as  when 
the  idea  is  closely  related  to  our  personal  interests. 
All  the  ideas  we  are  likely  to  make  the  subjects  of 
Induced  Autosuggestion  are  of  the  latter  class,  since 
they  refer  to  health,  energy,  success  or  some  goal 
equally  dear  to  our  hearts.  The  greater  the  degree  of 
emotion  accompanying  an  idea,  the  more  potent  is  the 
autosuggestion  resulting  from  it.  Thus  a  moment  of 
violent  fright  may  give  rise  to  effects  which  last  a 
lifetime.  This  emotional  factor  also  plays  a  large  part 
in  securing  acceptation. 

So  far  as  one  can  see,  the  acceptation  or  rejection 
of  an  idea  by  the  Unconscious  depends  on  the  asso- 
ciations with  which  it  is  connected.  Thus,  an  idea  is 
accepted  when  it  evokes  similar  ideas  charged  with 
emotion  of  the  same  quality.  It  is  rejected  when  it  is 
associated  with  contrary  ideas,  which  are,  therefore, 
contrary  in  their  emotional  charge.  In  the  latter  case, 
57 


58     THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

the  original  idea  is  neutralised  by  its  associations, 
somewhat  in  the  same  way  as  an  acid  is  neutralised  by 
an  alkali.  An  example  will  serve  to  make  this  clearer. 

You  are  on  a  cross-channel  boat  on  a  roughish  pas- 
sage. You  go  up  to  a  sailor  and  say  to  him  in  a  sym- 
pathetic tone :  "  My  dear  fellow,  you're  looking  very 
ill.  Aren't  you  going  to  be  sea-sick?  "  According  to 
his  temperament  he  either  laughs  at  your  "  joke  "  or 
expresses  a  pardonable  irritation.  But  he  does  not  be- 
come sick  because  the  associations  called  up  are  con- 
trary ones.  Sea-sickness  is  associated  in  his  mind  with 
his  own  immunity  from  it,  and  therefore  evokes  not 
fear  but  self-confidence.  Pursuing  your  somewhat  in- 
humane experiment  you  approach  a  timid-looking  pas- 
senger. "  My  dear  sir,  how  ill  you  look !  I  feel  sure 
you  are  going  to  be  sea-sick.  Let  me  help  you  down 
below."  He  turns  pale.  The  word  "  sea-sickness  "  as- 
sociates itself  with  his  own  fears  and  forebodings.  He 
accepts  your  aid  down  to  his  berth  and  there  the  per- 
nicious autosuggestion  is  realised.  In  the  first  case  the 
idea  was  refused,  because  it  was  overwhelmed  by  a  con- 
trary association;  in  the  second  the  Unconscious  ac- 
cepted it,  since  it  was  reinforced  by  similar  ideas  from 
within. 

But  supposing  to  a  sick  mind,  permeated  with 
thoughts  of  disease,  a  thought  of  health  is  presented. 
How  can  we  avoid  the  malassociation  which  tends  to 
neutralise  it? 

We  can  think  of  the  Unconscious  as  a  tide  which 
ebbs  and  flows.  In  sleep  it  seems  to  submerge  the  con- 
scious altogether,  while  at  our  moments  of  full  wake- 
fulness,  when  the  attention  and  will  are  both  at  work, 
the  tide  is  at  its  lowest  ebb.  Between  these  two  ex- 
tremes are  any  number  of  intermediary  levels.  When 


THE  IMAGINATION  AND  THE  WILL      59 

we  are  drowsy,  dreamy,  lulled  into  a  gentle  reverie  by 
music  or  by  a  picture  or  a  poem,  the  Unconscious  tide 
is  high;  the  more  wakeful  and  alert  we  become  the 
lower  it  sinks.  This  submersion  of  the  conscious  mind 
is  called  by  Baudouin  the  "  Outcropping  of  the  Sub- 
conscious." The  highest  degree  of  outcropping,  com- 
patible with  the  conscious  direction  of  our  thoughts, 
occurs  just  before  we  fall  asleep  and  just  after  we 
wake. 

It  is  fairly  obvious  that  the  greater  the  outcropping 
the  more  accessible  these  dynamic  strata  of  the  mind 
become,  and  the  easier  it  is  to  implant  there  any  idea 
we  wish  to  realise. 

As  the  Unconscious  tide  rises  the  active  levels  of 
the  mind  are  overflowed;  thought  is  released  from  its 
task  of  serving  our  conscious  aims  in  the  real  world 
of  matter,  and  moves  among  the  more  primal  wishes 
and  desires  which  people  the  Unconscious,  like  a  diver 
walking  the  strange  world  beneath  the  sea.  But  the 
laws  by  which  thought  is  governed  on  this  sub-surface 
level  are  not  those  of  our  ordinary  waking  conscious- 
ness. During  outcropping  association  by  contraries 
does  not  seem  readily  to  take  place.  Thus  the  mal- 
association,  which  neutralised  the  desired  idea  and  so 
prevented  acceptation,  no  longer  presents  itself.  We 
all  know  what  happens  during  a  "  day-dream "  or 
"  brown-study,"  when  the  Unconscious  tide  is  high. 
A  succession  of  bright  images  glides  smoothly  through 
the  mind.  The  original  thought  spins  itself  on  and 
on;  no  obstacles  seem  to  stop  it,  no  questions  of  proba- 
bility arise;  we  are  cut  off  from  the  actual  conditions 
of  life  and  live  in  a  world  where  all  things  are  possible. 
These  day-dreams  cause  very  potent  autosuggestions, 
and  one  should  take  care  that  they  are  wholesome  and 


60      THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

innocent;  but  the  important  point  is  that  on  this  level 
of  consciousness  association  seems  to  operate  by  simi- 
larity, and  emotion  is  comparatively  intense.  These 
conditions  are  highly  favourable  to  acceptation. 

If,  on  getting  into  bed  at  night,  we  assume  a  com- 
fortable posture,  relax  our  muscles  and  close  our  eyes, 
we  fall  naturally  into  a  stage  of  semi-consciousness 
akin  to  that  of  day-dreaming.  If  now  we  introduce 
into  the  mind  any  desired  idea,  it  is  freed  from  the 
inhibiting  associations  of  daily  life,  associates  itself 
by  similarity,  and  attracts  emotion  of  the  same  quality 
as  its  own  charge.  The  Unconscious  is  thus  caused 
to  accept  it,  and  inevitably  it  is  turned  into  an  auto- 
suggestion. Every  time  we  repeat  this  process  the  as- 
sociative power  of  the  idea  is  increased,  its  emotional 
value  grows  greater,  and  the  autosuggestion  resulting 
from  it  is  more  powerful.  By  this  means  we  can  in- 
duce the  Unconscious  to  accept  an  idea,  the  normal 
associations  of  which  are  contrary  and  unfavourable. 
The  person  with  a  disease-soaked  mind  can  gradually 
implant  ideas  of  health,  filling  his  Unconscious  daily 
with  healing  thoughts.  The  instrument  we  use  is 
Thought,  and  the  condition  essential  to  success  is  that 
the  conscious  mind  shall  be  lulled  to  rest. 

Systems  which  hitherto  have  tried  to  make  use  of 
autosuggestion  have  failed  to  secure  reliable  results 
because  they  did  not  place  their  reliance  on  Thought, 
but  tried  to  compel  the  Unconscious  to  accept  an  idea 
by  exercising  the  Will.  Obviously,  such  attempts  are 
doomed  to  failure.  By  using  the  will  we  automatically 
wake  ourselves  up,  suppress  the  encroaching  tide  of 
the  Unconscious,  and  thereby  destroy  the  condition 
by  which  alone  we  can  succeed. 

It  is  worth  our  while  to  note  more  closely  how  this 


THOUGHT  AND  THE  WILL  61 

happens.  A  sufferer,  whose  mind  is  filled  with 
thoughts  of  ill-health,  sits  down  to  compel  himself  to 
accept  a  good  suggestion.  He  calls  up  a  thought  of 
health  and  makes  an  effort  of  the  will  to  impress  it 
on  the  Unconscious.  This  effort  restores  him  to  full 
wake  fulness  and  so  evokes  the  customary  association 
— disease.  Consequently,  he  finds  himself  contemplat- 
ing the  exact  opposite  of  what  he  desired.  He  sum- 
mons his  will  again  and  recalls  the  healthful  thought, 
but  since  he  is  now  wider  awake  than  ever,  association 
is  even  more  rapid  and  powerful  than  before.  The 
disease-thought  is  now  in  full  possession  of  his  mind 
and  all  the  efforts  of  his  will  fail  to  dislodge  it.  In- 
deed the  harder  he  struggles  the  more  fully  the  evil 
thought  possesses  him. 

This  gives  us  a  glimpse  of  the  new  and  startling  dis- 
covery to  which  Coue's  uniform  success  is  due; 
namely,  that  when  the  will  is  in  conflict  with  an 
idea,  the  idea  invariably  gains  the  day.  This  is  true, 
of  course,  not  only  of  Induced  Autosuggestion,  but 
also  of  the  spontaneous  suggestions  which  occur  in 
daily  life.  A  few  examples  will  make  this  clear. 

Most  of  us  know  how,  when  we  have  some  difficult 
duty  to  perform,  a  chance  word  of  discouragement  will 
dwell  in  the  mind,  eating  away  our  self-confidence  and 
attuning  our  minds  to  failure.  All  the  efforts  of  our 
will  fail  to  throw  it  off;  indeed,  the  more  we  struggle 
against  it  the  more  we  become  obsessed  with  it. 

Very  similar  to  this  is  the  state  of  mind  of  the 
person  suffering  from  stage-fright.  He  is  obsessed 
with  ideas  of  failure  and  all  the  efforts  of  his  will 
are  powerless  to  overcome  them.  Indeed,  it  is  the 
state  of  effort  and  tension  which  makes  his  discom- 
fiture so  complete. 


62      THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

Sport  offers  many  examples  of  the  working  of  this 
law. 

A  tennis-player  is  engaged  to  play  in  an  important 
match.  He  wishes,  of  course,  to  win,  but  fears  that 
he  will  lose.  Even  before  the  day  of  the  game  his 
fears  begin  to  realise  themselves.  He  is  nervy  and 
"  out  of  sorts."  In  fact,  the  Unconscious  is  creating 
the  conditions  best  suited  to  realise  the  thought  in 
his  mind — failure.  When  the  game  begins  his  skill 
seems  to  have  deserted  him.  He  summons  the  re- 
sources of  his  will  and  tries  to  compel  himself  to  play 
well,  straining  every  nerve  to  recapture  the  old  dex- 
terity. But  all  his  efforts  only  make  him  play  worse 
and  worse.  The  harder  he  tries  the  more  signally  he 
fails.  The  energy  he  calls  up  obeys  not  his  will  but 
the  idea  in  his  mind,  not  the  desire  to  win  but  the 
dominant  thought  of  failure. 

The  fatal  attraction  of  the  bunker  for  the  nervous 
golfer  is  due  to  the  same  cause.  With  his  mind's  eye 
he  sees  his  ball  alighting  in  the  most  unfavourable 
spot.  He  may  use  any  club  he  likes,  he  may  make 
a  long  drive  or  a  short ;  as  long  as  the  thought  of  the 
bunker  dominates  his  mind,  the  ball  will  inevitably 
find  its  way  into  it.  The  more  he  calls  on  his  will 
to  help  him,  the  worse  his  plight  is  likely  to  be.  Suc- 
cess is  not  gained  by  effort  but  by  right  thinking.  The 
champion  golfer  or  tennis-player  is  not  a  person  of 
herculean  frame  and  immense  will-power.  His  whole 
life  has  been  dominated  by  the  thought  of  success  in 
the  game  at  which  he  excels. 

Young  persons  sitting  for  an  examination  some- 
times undergo  this  painful  experience.  On  reading 
through  their  papers  they  find  that  all  their  knowledge 
has  suddenly  deserted  them.  Their  mind  is  an  ap- 


THOUGHT  AND  THE  WILL  63 

palling  blank  and  not  one  relevant  thought  can  they 
recall.  The  more  they  grit  their  teeth  and  summon 
the  powers  of  the  will,  the  further  the  desired  ideas 
flee.  But  when  they  have  left  the  examination-room 
and  the  tension  relaxes,  the  ideas  they  were  seeking 
flow  tantalisingly  back  into  the  mind.  Their  forget- 
fulness  was  due  to  thoughts  of  failure  previously 
nourished  in  the  mind.  The  application  of  the  will 
only  made  the  disaster  more  complete. 

This  explains  the  baffling  experience  of  the  drug- 
taker,  the  drunkard,  the  victim  of  some  vicious  crav- 
ing. His  mind  is  obsessed  by  the  desire  for  sat- 
isfaction. The  efforts  of  the  will  to  restrain  it  only 
make  it  more  overmastering.  Repeated  failures  con- 
vince him  at  length  that  he  is  powerless  to  con- 
trol himself,  and  this  idea,  operating  as  an  auto- 
suggestion, increases  his  impotence.  So  in  despair, 
he  abandons  himself  to  his  obsession,  and  his  life  ends 
in  wreckage. 

We  can  now  see,  not  only  that  the  Will  is  incapable 
of  vanquishing  a  thought,  but  that  as  fast  as  the  Will 
brings  up  its  big  guns,  Thought  captures  them  and 
turns  them  against  it. 

This  truth,  which  Baudouin  calls  the  Law  of  Re- 
versed Effort,  is  thus  stated  by  Coue : 

"When  the  Imagination  and  the  Will  are  in  conflict 
the  Imagination  invariably  gains  the  day." 

"In  the  conflict  between  the  Will  and  the  Imagina- 
tion, the  force  of  the  Imagination  is  in  direct  ratio  to 
the  square  of  the  Will." 

The  mathematical  terms  are  used,  of  course,  only 
metaphorically. 

Thus  the  Will  turns  out  to  be,  not  the  commanding 
monarch  of  life,  as  many  people  would  have  it,  but 


64      THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

a  blind  Samson,  capable  either  of  turning  the  mill  or 
of  pulling  down  the  pillars. 

Autosuggestion  succeeds  by  avoiding  conflict.  It 
replaces  wrong  thought  by  right,  literally  applying  in 
the  sphere  of  science  the  principle  enunciated  in  the 
New  Testament :  "  Resist  not  evil,  but  overcome  evil 
with  good." 

This  doctrine  is  in  no  sense  a  negation  of  the  will. 
It  simply  puts  it  in  its  right  place,  subordinates  it 
to  a  higher  power.  A  moment's  reflection  will  suffice 
to  show  that  the  will  cannot  be  more  than  the  servant 
of  thought.  We  are  incapable  of  exercising  the  will 
unless  the  imagination  has  first  furnished  it  with  a 
goal.  We  cannot  simply  will,  we  must  will  something, 
and  that  something  exists  in  our  minds  as  an  idea. 
The  will  acts  rightly  when  it  is  in  harmony  with  the 
idea  in  the  mind. 

But  what  happens  when,  in  the  smooth  execution 
of  our  idea,  we  are  confronted  with  an  obstacle  ?  This 
obstacle  may  exist  outside  us,  as  did  the  golfer's 
bunker,  but  it  must  also  exist  as  an  idea  in  our  minds 
or  we  should  not  be  aware  of  it. 

As  long  as  we  allow  this  mental  image  to  stay  there, 
the  efforts  of  our  will  to  overcome  it  only  make  it 
more  irresistible.  We  run  our  heads  against  it  like  a 
goat  butting  a  brick  wall.  Indeed,  in  this  way  we  can 
magnify  the  smallest  difficulty  until  it  becomes  insur- 
mountable— we  can  make  mole-hills  into  mountains. 
This  is  precisely  what  the  neurasthenic  does.  The 
idea  of  a  difficulty  dwells  unchanged  in  his  mind,  and 
all  his  efforts  to  overcome  it  only  increase  its  dimen- 
sions, until  it  overpowers  him  and  he  faints  in  the 
effort  to  cross  a  street. 

But  as  soon  as  we  change  the  idea  our  troubles 


THOUGHT  AND  THE  WILL  65 

vanish.  By  means  of  the  intellect  we  can  substitute 
for  the  blank  idea  of  the  obstacle  that  of  the  means 
to  overcome  it.  Immediately,  the  will  is  brought  into 
harmony  again  with  thought,  and  we  go  forward  to 
the  triumphant  attainment  of  our  end.  It  may  be  that 
the  means  adopted  consist  of  a  frontal  attack,  the 
overcoming  of  an  obstacle  by  force.  But  before  we 
bring  this  force  into  play,  the  mind  must  have  ap- 
proved it — must  have  entertained  the  idea  of  its  prob- 
able success.  We  must,  in  fact,  have  thought  of  the 
obstacle  as  already  smashed  down  and  flattened  out 
by  our  attack.  Otherwise,  we  should  involve  our- 
selves in  the  conflict  depicted  above,  and  our  force 
would  be  exhausted  in  a  futile  internal  battle.  In  a 
frontal  attack  against  an  obstacle  we  use  effort,  and 
effort,  to  be  effective,  must  be  approved  by  the 
reason  and  preceded,  to  some  extent,  by  the  idea  of 
success. 

Thus,  even  in  our  dealings  with  the  outside  world, 
Thought  is  always  master  of  the  will.  How  much 
more  so  when  our  action  is  turned  inward!  When 
practising  autosuggestion  we  are  living  in  the  mind, 
where  thoughts  are  the  only  realities.  We  can  meet 
with  no  obstacle  other  than  that  of  Thought  itself. 
Obviously  then,  the  frontal  attack,  the  exertion  of 
effort,  can  never  be  admissible,  for  it  sets  the  will  and 
the  thought  at  once  in  opposition.  The  turning  of  our 
thoughts  from  the  mere  recognition  of  an  obstacle  to 
the  idea  of  the  means  to  overcome  it,  is  no  longer 
a  preliminary,  as  in  the  case  of  outward  action.  In 
itself  it  clears  away  the  obstacle.  By  procuring  the 
right  idea  our  end  is  already  attained. 

In  applying  effort  during  the  practice  of  Induced 
Autosuggestion,  we  use  in  the  world  of  mind  an  in- 


66     THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

strument  fashioned  for  use  in  the  world  of  matter. 
It  is  as  if  we  tried  to  solve  a  mathematical  problem 
by  mauling  the  book  with  a  tin-opener. 

For  two  reasons  then,  effort  must  never  be  allowed 
to  intrude  during  the  practice  of  autosuggestion :  first 
because  it  wakes  us  up  and  so  suppresses  the  tide  of 
the  Unconscious,  secondly  because  it  causes  conflict 
between  Thought  and  the  will. 

One  other  interesting  fact  emerges  from  an  exami- 
nation of  the  foregoing  examples.  In  each  case  we 
find  that  the  idea  which  occupied  the  mind  was  of  a 
final  state,  an  accomplished  fact.  The  golfer  was 
thinking  of  his  ball  dropping  into  the  bunker,  the 
tennis-player  of  his  defeat,  the  examinee  of  his  failure. 
In  each  case  the  Unconscious  realised  the  thought  in 
its  own  way,  chose  inevitably  the  means  best  suited  to 
arrive  at  its  end — the  realisation  of  the  idea.  In  the 
case  of  the  golfer  the  most  delicate  physical  adjust- 
ments were  necessary.  Stance,  grip  and  swing  all  con- 
tributed their  quota,  but  these  physical  adjustments 
were  performed  unconsciously,  the  conscious  mind 
being  unaware  of  them.  From  this  we  see  that  we 
need  not  suggest  the  way  in  which  our  aim  is  to  be 
accomplished.  If  we  fill  our  minds  with  the  thought 
of  the  desired  end,  provided  that  end  is  possible,  the 
Unconscious  will  lead  us  to  it  by  the  easiest,  most 
direct  path. 

Here  we  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  truth  behind  what 
is  called  "  luck."  We  are  told  that  everything  comes 
to  him  who  waits,  and  this  is  literally  true,  provided 
he  waits  in  the  right  frame  of  mind.  Some  men  are 
notoriously  lucky  in  business;  whatever  they  touch 
seems  to  "  turn  to  gold."  The  secret  of  their  success 
lies  in  the  fact  that  they  confidently  expect  to  succeed. 


THOUGHT  AND  THE  WILL  67 

There  is  no  need  to  go  so  far  as  the  writers  of  the 
school  of  "  New  Thought,"  and  claim  that  suggestion 
can  set  in  motion  transcendental  laws  outside  man's 
own  nature.  It  is  quite  clear  that  the  man  who  ex- 
pects success,  of  whatever  kind  it  may  be,  will  uncon- 
sciously take  up  the  right  attitude  to  his  environment; 
will  involuntarily  close  with  fleeting  opportunity,  and 
by  his  inner  fitness  command  the  circumstances  with- 
out. 

Man  has  often  been  likened  to  a  ship  navigating  the 
seas  of  life.  Of  that  ship  the  engine  is  the  will  and 
Thought  is  the  helm.  If  we  are  being  directed  out  of 
our  true  course  it  is  worse  than  useless  to  call  for  full 
steam  ahead ;  our  only  hope  lies  in  changing  the  direc- 
tion of  the  helm. 


Ill 

THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 


CHAPTER  VI 
GENERAL  RULES 

WITH  our  knowledge  of  the  powerful  effect  which  an 
idea  produces,  we  shall  see  the  importance  of  exercis- 
ing a  more  careful  censorship  over  the  thoughts  which 
enter  our  minds.  Thought  is  the  legislative  power 
in  our  lives,  just  as  the  will  is  the  executive. 
We  should  not  think  it  wise  to  permit  the  in- 
mates of  prisons  and  asylums  to  occupy  the  legislative 
posts  in  the  state,  yet  when  we  harbour  ideas  of  pas- 
sion and  disease,  we  allow  the  criminals  and  lunatics 
of  thought  to  usurp  the  governing  power  in  the  com- 
monwealth of  our  being. 

In  future,  then,  we  shall  seek  ideas  of  health,  suc- 
cess, and  goodness ;  we  shall  treat  warily  all  depressing 
subjects  of  conversation,  the  daily  list  of  crimes  and 
disasters  which  fill  the  newspapers,  and  those  novels, 
plays  and  films  which  harrow  our  feelings,  without 
transmuting  by  the  magic  of  art  the  sadness  into 
beauty. 

This  does  not  mean  that  we  should  be  always  self- 
consciously studying  ourselves,  ready  to  nip  the  per- 
nicious idea  in  the  bud;  nor  yet  that  we  should  adopt 
the  ostrich's  policy  of  sticking  our  heads  in  the  sand 
and  declaring  that  disease  and  evil  have  no  real  exist- 
ence. The  one  leads  to  egotism  and  the  other  to  cal- 
lousness. Duty  sometimes  requires  us  to  give  our  at- 
tention to  things  in  themselves  evil  and  depressing. 
The  demands  of  friendship  and  human  sympathy  are 


72     THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

imperious,  and  we  cannot  ignore  them  without  moral 
loss.  But  there  is  a  positive  and  a  negative  way  of 
approaching  such  subjects. 

Sympathy  is  too  often  regarded  as  a  passive 
process  by  which  we  allow  ourselves  to  be  infected 
by  the  gloom,  the  weakness,  the  mental  ill-health  of 
other  people.  This  is  sympathy  perverted.  If  a  friend 
is  suffering  from  small-pox  or  scarlet  fever  you  do  not 
seek  to  prove  your  sympathy  by  infecting  yourself 
with  his  disease.  You  would  recognize  this  to  be  a 
crime  against  the  community.  Yet  many  people  sub- 
mit themselves  to  infection  by  unhealthy  ideas  as  if  it 
were  an  act  of  charity — part  of  their  duty  towards 
their  neighbours.  In  the  same  way  people  deliver  their 
minds  to  harrowing  stories  of  famine  and  pestilence, 
as  if  the  mental  depression  thus  produced  were  of 
some  value  to  the  far-away  victims.  This  is  obviously 
false — the  only  result  is  to  cause  gloom  and  ill-health 
in  the  reader  and  so  make  him  a  burden  to  his  family. 
That  such  disasters  should  be  known  is  beyond  ques- 
tion, but  we  should  react  to  them  in  the  manner  indi- 
cated in  the  last  chapter.  We  should  replace  the 
blank  recognition  of  the  evil  by  the  quest  of  the  means 
best  suited  to  overcome  it;  then  we  can  look  forward 
to  an  inspiring  end  and  place  the  powers  of  our  will 
in  the  service  of  its  attainment. 

Oh,  human  soul,  as  long  as  thpu  canst  so, 

Set  up  a  mark  of  everlasting  light 

Above  the  heaving  senses'  ebb  and  flow  .  .  . 

Not  with  lost  toil  thou  labourest  through  the  night, 

Thou  mak'st  the  heaven  thou  hop'st  indeed  thy  home. 

Autosuggestion,  far  from  producing  callousness,  dic- 
tates the  method  and  supplies  the  means  by  which  the 
truest  sympathy  can  be  practised.  In  every  case  our 


GENERAL  RULES  73 

aim  must  be  to  remove  the  suffering  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible, and  this  is  facilitated  by  refusing  acceptation  to 
the  bad  ideas  and  maintaining  our  own  mental  and 
moral  balance. 

Whenever  gloomy  thoughts  come  to  us,  whether 
from  without  or  within,  we  should  quietly  transfer  our 
attention  to  something  brighter.  Even  if  we  are  af- 
flicted by  some  actual  malady,  we  should  keep  our 
thought  from  resting  on  it  as  far  as  we  have  the  power 
to  do  so.  An  organic  disease  may  be  increased  a  hun- 
dredfold by  allowing  the  mind  to  brood  on  it,  for  in 
so  doing  we  place  at  its  disposal  all  the  resources  of 
our  organism,  and  direct  our  life-force  to  our  own 
destruction.  On  the  other  hand,  by  denying  it  our  at- 
tention and  opposing  it  with  curative  autosuggestions, 
we  reduce  its  power  to  the  minimum  and  should  suo 
ceed  in  overcoming  it  entirely.  Even  in  the  most  seri- 
ous organic  diseases  the  element  contributed  by  wrong 
thought  is  infinitely  greater  than  that  which  is  purely 
physical. 

There  are  times  when  temperamental  failings,  or 
the  gravity  of  our  affliction,  places  our  imagination 
beyond  our  ordinary  control.  The  suggestion  operates 
in  spite  of  us ;  we  do  not  seem  to  possess  the  power  to 
rid  our  minds  of  the  adverse  thought.  Under  these 
conditions  we  should  never  struggle  to  throw  off  the 
obsessing  idea  by  force.  Our  exertions  only  bring  into 
play  the  law  of  reversed  effort,  and  we  flounder  deeper 
into  the  slough.  Coue's  technique,  however,  which  will 
be  outlined  in  succeeding  chapters,  will  give  us  the 
means  of  mastering  ourselves,  even  under  the  most  try- 
ing conditions. 

Of  all  the  destructive  suggestions  we  must  learn  to 
shun,  none  is  more  dangerous  than  fear.  In  fearing 


74     THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

something  the  mind  is  not  only  dwelling  on  a  nega- 
tive idea,  but  it  is  establishing  the  closest  personal  con- 
nection between  the  idea  and  ourselves.  Moreover,  the 
idea  is  surrounded  by  an  aura  of  emotion,  which  con- 
siderably intensifies  its  effect.  Fear  combines  every 
element  necessary  to  give  to  an  autosuggestion  its 
maximum  power.  But  happily  fear,  too,  is  susceptible 
to  the  controlling  power  of  autosuggestion.  It  is  one 
of  the  first  things  which  a  person  cognisant  of  the 
means  to  be  applied  should  seek  to  eradicate  from  his 
mind. 

For  our  own  sakes,  too,  we  should  avoid  dwelling 
on  the  faults  and  frailties  of  our  neighbours.  If  ideas 
of  selfishness,  greed,  vanity,  are  continually  before  our 
minds  there  is  great  danger  that  we  shall  subcon- 
sciously accept  them,  and  so  realise  them  in  our  own 
character.  The  petty  gossip  and  backbiting,  so  com- 
mon in  a  small  town,  produce  the  very  faults  they 
seem  to  condemn.  But  by  allowing  our  minds  to  rest 
upon  the  virtues  of  our  neighbours,  we  reproduce  the 
same  virtues  in  ourselves. 

But  if  we  should  avoid  negative  ideas  for  our  own 
sakes,  much  more  should  we  do  so  for  the  sake  of 
other  people.  Gloomy  and  despondent  men  and 
women  are  centres  of  mental  contagion,  damaging  all 
with  whom  they  come  in  contact.  Sometimes  such 
people  seem  involuntarily  to  exert  themselves  to  quench 
the  cheerfulness  of  brighter  natures,  as  if  their  Un- 
conscious strove  to  reduce  all  others  to  its  own  low 
level.  But  even  healthy,  well-intentioned  people  scat- 
ter evil  suggestions  broadcast,  without  the  least  sus- 
picion of  the  harm  they  do.  Every  time  we  remark 
to  an  acquaintance  that  he  is  looking  ill,  we  actually 
damage  his  health ;  the  effect  may  be  extremely  slight, 


GENERAL  RULES  75 

but  by  repetition  it  grows  powerful.  A  man  who  ac- 
cepts in  the  course  of  a  day  fifteen  or  twenty  sugges- 
tions that  he  is  ill,  has  gone  a  considerable  part  of 
the  way  towards  actual  illness.  Similarly,  when  we 
thoughtlessly  commiserate  with  a  friend  on  the  diffi- 
culty of  his  daily  work,  or  represent  it  as  irksome  and 
uncongenial,  we  make  it  a  little  harder  for  him  to  ac- 
complish, and  thereby  slightly  diminish  his  chances  of 
success. 

If  we  must  supervise  our  speech  in  contact  with 
adults,  with  children  we  should  exercise  still  greater 
foresight.  The  child's  Unconscious  is  far  more  ac- 
cessible than  that  of  the  adult;  the  selective  power 
exercised  by  the  conscious  mind  is  much  feebler,  and 
consequently  the  impressions  received  realise  them- 
selves with  greater  power.  These  impressions  are  the 
material  from  which  the  child's  growing  life  is  con- 
structed, and  if  we  supply  faulty  material  the  resultant 
structure  will  be  unstable.  Yet  the  most  attentive  and 
well-meaning  mothers  are  engaged  daily  in  sowing 
the  seeds  of  weakness  in  their  children's  minds.  The 
little  ones  are  constantly  told  they  will  take  cold,  will 
be  sick,  will  fall  down,  or  will  suffer  some  other  mis- 
fortune. The  more  delicate  the  child's  health,  the 
more  likely  it  is  to  be  subjected  to  adverse  suggestions. 
It  is  too  often  saturated  with  the  idea  of  bad  health, 
and  comes  to  look  on  disease  as  the  normal  state  of 
existence  and  health  as  exceptional.  The  same  is 
equally  true  of  the  child's  mental  and  moral  upbring- 
ing. How  often  do  foolish  parents  tell  their  children 
that  they  are  naughty,  disobedient,  stupicl,  idle  or 
vicious?  If  these  suggestions  were  accepted,  which, 
thank  Heaven,  is  not  always  the  case,  the  little  ones 
would  in  very  fact  develop  just  these  qualities.  But 


76     THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

even  when  no  word  is  spoken,  a  look  or  a  gesture  can 
initiate  an  undesirable  autosuggestion.  The  same 
child,  visited  by  two  strangers,  will  immediately  make 
friends  with  the  one  and  avoid  the  other.  Why  is 
this? — Because  the  one  carries  with  him  a  healthful 
atmosphere,  while  the  other  sends  out  waves  of  irrita- 
bility or  gloom. 

"  Men  imagine,"  says  Emerson,  "  that  they  com- 
municate their  virtue  or  vice  only  by  overt  actions, 
and  do  not  see  that  virtue  and  vice  emit  a  breath 
every  moment." 

With  children,  above  all,  it  is  not  sufficient  to  re- 
frain from  the  expression  of  negative  ideas;  we  must 
avoid  harbouring  them  altogether.  Unless  we  possess 
a  bright  positive  mind  the  suggestions  derived  from  us 
will  be  of  little  value. 

The  idea  is  gaining  ground  that  a  great  deal  of 
what  is  called  hereditary  disease  is  transmitted  from 
parent  to  child,  not  physically  but  mentally — that  is 
to  say,  by  means  of  adverse  suggestions  continually 
renewed  in  the  child's  mind.  Thus  if  one  of  the  par- 
ents has  a  tendency  to  tuberculosis,  the  child  often 
lives  in  an  atmosphere  laden  with  tuberculous  thoughts. 
The  little  one  is  continually  advised  to  take  care  of  its 
lungs,  to  keep  its  chest  warm,  to  beware  of  colds,  etc., 
etc.  In  other  words,  the  idea  is  repeatedly  presented 
to  its  mind  that  it  possesses  second-rate  lungs.  The 
realisation  of  these  ideas,  the  actual  production  of  pul- 
monary tuberculosis  is  thus  almost  assured. 

But  all  this  is  no  more  than  crystallised  common- 
sense.  Everyone  knows  that  a  cheerful  mind  suffuses 
health,  while  a  gloomy  one  produces  conditions  fa- 
vourable to  disease.  "  A  merry  heart  doeth  good  like 
a  medicine,"  says  the  writer  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs, 


GENERAL  RULES  77 

"but  a  broken  spirit  drieth  the  bones."  But  this 
knowledge,  since  it  lacked  a  scientific  basis,  has  never 
been  systematically  applied.  We  have  regarded  our 
feelings  far  too  much  as  effects  and  not  sufficiently  as 
causes.  We  are  happy  because  we  are  well ;  we  do  not 
recognise  that  the  process  will  work  equally  well  in  the 
reverse  direction — that  we  shall  be  well  because  we  are 
happy.  Happiness  is  not  only  the  result  of  our  con- 
ditions of  life;  it  is  also  the  creator  of  those  condi- 
tions. Autosuggestion  lays  weight  upon  this  latter 
view.  Happiness  must  come  first.  It  is  only  when 
the  mind  is  ordered,  balanced,  filled  with  the  light  of 
sweet  and  joyous  thought,  that  it  can  work  with  its 
maximum  efficiency.  When  we  are  habitually  happy 
our  powers  and  capabilities  come  to  their  full  blossom, 
and  we  are  able  to  work  with  the  utmost  effect  on  the 
shaping  of  what  lies  without. 

Happiness,  you  say,  cannot  be  ordered  like  a  chop 
in  a  restaurant.  Like  love,  its  very  essence  is  free- 
dom. This  is  true ;  but  like  love,  it  can  be  wooed  and 
won.  It  is  a  condition  which  everyone  experiences 
at  some  time  in  life.  It  is  native  to  the  mind.  By  the 
systematic  practice  of  Induced  Autosuggestion  we  can 
make  it,  not  a  fleeting  visitant,  but  a  regular  tenant  of 
the  mind,  which  storms  and  stresses  from  without 
cannot  dislodge.  This  idea  of  the  indwelling  happi- 
ness, inwardly  conditioned,  is  as  ancient  as  thought. 
By  autosuggestion  we  can  realise  it  in  our  own  lives. 


CHAPTER  VII 
THE  GENERAL  FORMULA 

WE  saw  that  an  unskilled  golfer,  who  imagines  his 
ball  is  going  to  alight  in  a  bunker,  unconsciously  per- 
forms just  those  physical  movements  needful  to  realise 
his  idea  in  the  actual.  In  realising  this  idea  his  Un- 
conscious displays  ingenuity  and  skill  none  the  less 
admirable  because  opposed  to  his  desire.  From  this 
and  other  examples  we  concluded  that  if  the  mind 
dwells  on  the  idea  of  an  accomplished  fact,  a  realised 
state,  the  Unconscious  will  produce  this  state.  If  this 
is  true  of  our  spontaneous  autosuggestions  it  is  equally 
true  of  the  self-induced  ones. 

It  follows  that  if  we  consistently  think  of  happi- 
ness we  become  happy;  if  we  think  of  health  we  be- 
come healthy;  if  we  think  of  goodness  we  become 
good.  Whatever  thought  we  continually  think,  pro- 
vided it  is  reasonable,  tends  to  become  an  actual  condi- 
tion of  our  life. 

Traditionally  we  rely  too  much  on  the  conscious 
mind.  If  a  man  suffers  from  headaches  he  searches 
out,  with  the  help  of  his  physician,  their  cause;  dis- 
covers whether  they  come  from  his  eyes,  his  digestion 
or  his  nerves,  and  purchases  the  drugs  best  suited  to 
repair  the  fault.  If  he  wishes  to  improve  a  bad  mem- 
ory he  practises  one  of  the  various  methods  of  mem- 
ory-training. If  he  is  the  victim  of  a  pernicious  habit 
he  is  left  to  counter  it  by  efforts  of  the  will,  which  too 
often  exhaust  his  strength,  undermine  his  self-respect, 
and  only  lead  him  deeper  into  the  mire.  How  simple 
78 


THE  GENERAL  FORMULA  79 

in  comparison  is  the  method  of  Induced  Autosugges- 
tion! He  need  merely  think  the  end — a  head  free 
from  pain,  a  good  memory,  a  mode  of  life  in  which  his 
bad  habit  has  no  part,  and  these  states  are  gradually 
evolved  without  his  being  aware  of  the  operation  per- 
formed by  the  Unconscious. 

But  even  so,  if  each  individual  difficulty  required 
a  fresh  treatment — one  for  the  headache,  one  for  the 
memory,  one  for  the  bad  habit  and  so  on — then  the 
time  needful  to  practise  autosuggestion  would  form  a 
considerable  part  of  our  waking  life.  Happily  the  re- 
searches of  the  Nancy  School  have  revealed  a  further 
simplification.  This  is  obtained  by  the  use  of  a  gen- 
eral formula  which  sets  before  the  mind  the  idea  of  a 
daily  improvement  in  every  respect,  mental,  physical 
and  moral. 

In  the  original  French  this  formula  runs  as  follows : 
"Tous  les  jours,  a  tous  points  de  vue,  je  vais  de 
mieux  en  mieux."  The  English  version  which  Coue 
considers  most  satisfactory  is  this:  "Day  by  day,  in 
every  way,  I'm  getting  better  and  better"  This  is 
very  easy  to  say,  the  youngest  child  can  understand 
it,  and  it  possesses  a  rudimentary  rhythm,  which  exerts 
a  lulling  effect  on  the  mind  and  so  aids  in  calling  up 
the  Unconscious.  But  if  you  are  accustomed  to  any 
other  version,  such  as  that  recommended  by  the  trans- 
lators of  Baudouin,  it  would  be  better  to  continue 
to  use  it.  Religious  minds  who  wish  to  associate  the 
formula  with  God's  care  and  protection  might  do  so 
after  this  fashion :  "  Day  by  day,  in  every  way,  by  the 
help  of  God,  I'm  getting  better  and  better."  It  is 
possible  that  the  attention  of  the  Unconscious  will 
thus  be  turned  to  moral  and  spiritual  improvements 
to  a  greater  extent  than  by  the  ordinary  formula. 


80     THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

But  this  general  formula  possesses  definite  advan- 
tages other  than  mere  terseness  and  convenience.  The 
Unconscious,  in  its  character  of  surveyor  over  our 
mental  and  physical  functions,  knows  far  better  than 
the  conscious  the  precise  failings  and  weaknesses  which 
have  the  greatest  need  of  attention.  The  general 
formula  supplies  it  with  a  fund  of  healing,  strengthen- 
ing power,  and  leaves  it  to  apply  this  at  the  points 
where  the  need  is  most  urgent. 

It  is  a  matter  of  common  experience  that  people's 
ideals  of  manhood  and  womanhood  vary  considerably. 
The  hardened  materialist  pictures  perfection  solely  in 
terms  of  wealth,  the  butterfly- woman  wants  little  but 
physical  beauty,  charm,  and  the  qualities  that  attract. 
The  sensitive  man  is  apt  to  depreciate  the  powers  he 
possesses  and  exaggerate  those  he  lacks;  while  his  self- 
satisfied  neighbour  can  see  no  good  in  any  virtues  but 
his  own.  It  is  quite  conceivable  that  a  person  left  free 
to  determine  the  nature  of  his  autosuggestions  by  the 
light  of  his  conscious  desire  might  use  this  power  to 
realise  a  quality  not  in  itself  admirable,  or  even  one 
which,  judged  by  higher  standards,  appeared  perni- 
cious. Even  supposing  that  his  choice  was  good  he 
would  be  in  danger  of  over-developing  a  few  char- 
acteristics to  the  detriment  of  others  and  so  destroy- 
ing the  balance  of  his  personality.  The  use  of  the 
general  formula  guards  against  this.  It  saves  a  man 
in  spite  of  himself.  It  avoids  the  pitfalls  into  which 
the  conscious  mind  may  lead  us  by  appealing  to  a  more 
competent  authority.  Just  as  we  leave  the  distribu- 
tion of  our  bodily  food  to  the  choice  of  the  Uncon- 
scious, so  we  may  safely  leave  that  of  our  mental  food, 
our  Induced  Autosuggestions. 


THE  GENERAL  FORMULA  81 

The  fear  that  the  universal  use  of  this  formula 
would  have  a  standardising  effect,  modifying  its  users 
to  a  uniform  pattern,  is  unfounded.  A  rigid  system  of 
particular  suggestions  might  tend  towards  such  a  re- 
sult, but  the  general  formula  leaves  every  mind  free 
to  unfold  and  develop  in  the  manner  most  natural  to 
itself.  The  eternal  diversity  of  men's  minds  can  only 
be  increased  by  the  free  impulse  thus  administered. 

We  have  previously  seen  that  the  Unconscious  tide 
rises  to  its  highest  point  compatible  with  conscious 
thought  just  before  sleep  and  just  after  awaking,  and 
that  the  suggestions  formulated  then  are  almost  as- 
sured acceptation.  It  is  these  moments  that  we  select 
for  the  repetition  of  the  formula. 

But  before  we  pass  on  to  the  precise  method,  a  word 
of  warning  is  necessary.  Even  the  most  superficial 
attempt  to  analyse  intellectually  a  living  act  is  bound 
to  make  it  appear  complex  and  difficult.  So  our  con- 
sideration of  the  processes  of  outcropping  and  ac- 
ceptation has  inevitably  invested  them  with  a  false 
appearance  of  difficulty.  Autosuggestion  is  above  all 
things  easy.  Its  greatest  enemy  is  effort.  The  more 
simple  and  unforced  the  manner  of  its  performance 
the  more  potently  and  profoundly  it  works.  This  is 
shown  by  the  fact  that  its  most  remarkable  results  have 
been  secured  by  children  and  by  simple  French  peas- 
ants. 

It  is  here  that  Coue's  directions  for  the  practice 
differ  considerably  from  those  of  Baudouin.  Coue  in- 
sists upon  its  easiness,  Baudouin  complicates  it.  The 
four  chapters  devoted  by  the  latter  to  "  relaxation," 
"  collection,"  "  contention,"  and  "  concentration,"  pro- 
duce in  the  reader  an  adverse  suggestion  of  no  mean 


82     THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

power.  They  leave  the  impression  that  autosuggestion 
is  a  perplexing  business  which  only  the  greatest  fore- 
sight and  supervision  can  render  successful.  Nothing 
could  be  more  calculated  to  throw  the  beginner  off  the 
track. 

We  have  seen  that  Autosuggestion  is  a  function  of 
the  mind  which  we  spontaneously  perform  every  day 
of  our  lives.  The  more  our  induced  autosuggestions 
approximate  to  this  spontaneous  prototype  the  more 
potent  they  are  likely  to  be.  Baudouin  warns  us 
against  the  danger  of  setting  the  intellect  to  do  the 
work  of  intuition,  yet  this  is  precisely  what  he  himself 
does.  A  patient  trying  by  his  rules  to  attain  out- 
cropping and  implant  therein  an  autosuggestion  is  so 
vigilantly  attentive  to  what  he  is  doing  that  outcrop- 
ping is  rendered  almost  impossible.  These  artificial 
aids  are,  in  Coue's  opinion,  not  only  unnecessary  but 
hindersome.  Autosuggestion  succeeds  when  Conscious 
and  Unconscious  co-operate  in  the  acceptance  of  an 
idea.  Coue's  long  practice  has  shown  that  we  must 
leave  the  Unconscious,  as  senior  partner  in  the  con- 
cern, to  bring  about  the  right  conditions  in  its  own 
way.  The  fussy  attempts  of  the  intellect  to  dictate 
the  method  of  processes  which  lie  outside  its  sphere 
will  only  produce  conflict,  and  so  condemn  our  attempt 
to  failure.  The  directions  given  here  are  amply  suf- 
ficient, if  conscientiously  applied,  to  secure  the  fullest 
benefits  of  which  the  method  is  capable. 

Take  a  piece  of  string  and  tie  in  it  twenty  knots. 
By  this  means  you  can  count  with  a  minimum  ex- 
penditure of  attention,  as  a  devout  Catholic  counts 
his  prayers  on  a  rosary.  The  number  twenty  has  no 
intrinsic  virtue ;  it  is  merely  adopted  as  a  suitable  round 
number. 


THE  GENERAL  FORMULA  83 

On  getting  into  bed  close  your  eyes,  relax  your 
muscles  and  take  up  a  comfortable  posture.  These 
are  no  more  than  the  ordinary  preliminaries  of  slum- 
ber. Now  repeat  twenty  times,  counting  by  means  of 
the  knots,  the  general  formula :  "  Day  by  day,  in  every 
way,  I'm  getting  better  and  better." 
"  The  words  should  be  uttered  aloud;  that  is,  loud 
enough  to  be  audible  to  your  own  ears.  In  this  way 
the  idea  is  reinforced  by  the  movements  of  lips  and 
tongue  and  by  the  auditory  impressions  conveyed 
through  the  ear.  Say  it  simply,  without  effort,  like 
a  child  absently  murmuring  a  nursery  rhyme.  Thus 
you  avoid  an  appeal  to  the  critical  faculties  of  the  con- 
scious which  would  lessen  the  outcropping.  When  you 
have  got  used  to  this  exercise  and  can  say  it  quite  "  un- 
self-consciously,"  begin  to  let  your  voice  rise  or  fall — 
it  does  not  matter  which — on  the  phrase  "  in  every 
way."  This  is  perhaps  the  most  important  part  of 
the  formula,  and  is  thus  given  a  gentle  emphasis.  But 
at  first  do  not  attempt  this  accentuation;  it  will  only 
needlessly  complicate  and,  by  requiring  more  conscious 
attention,  may  introduce  effort.  Do  not  try  to  think 
of  what  you  are  saying.  On  the  contrary,  let  the  mind 
wander  whither  it  will;  if  it  rests  on  the  formula  all 
the  better,  if  it  strays  elsewhere  do  not  recall  it.  As 
long  as  your  repetition  does  not  come  to  a  full-stop 
your  mind-wandering  will  be  less  disturbing  than 
would  be  the  effort  to  recall  your  thoughts. 

Baudouin  differs  from  Coue  as  to  the  manner  in 
which  the  formula  should  be  repeated.  His  advice 
is  to  say  it  "  piously,"  with  all  the  words  separately 
stressed.  No  doubt  it  has  its  value  when  thus  spoken, 
but  the  attitude  of  mind  to  which  the  word  "  pious  " 
can  be  applied  is  unfortunately  not  habitual  with  every- 


84     THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

one.  The  average  man  in  trying  to  be  "  pious  "  might 
end  by  being  merely  artificial.  But  the  child  still  exists 
in  the  most  mature  of  men.  The  "  infantile  "  mode 
of  repeating  the  formula  puts  one  in  touch  with  deep 
levels  of  the  Unconscious  where  the  child-mind  still 
survives.  Coue's  remarkable  successes  have  been  ob- 
tained by  this  means,  and  Baudouin  advances  no  co- 
gent reason  for  changing  it. 

These  instructions  no  doubt  fall  somewhat  short  of 
our  ideal  of  a  thought  entirely  occupying  the  mind. 
But  they  are  sufficient  for  a  beginning.  The  sover- 
eign rule  is  to  make  no  effort,  and  if  this  is  observed 
you  will  intuitively  fall  into  the  right  attitude.  This 
process  of  Unconscious  adaptation  may  be  hastened  by 
a  simple  suggestion  before  beginning.  Say  to  your- 
self, "  I  shall  repeat  the  formula  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  secure  its  maximum  effect."  This  will  bring  about 
the  required  conditions  much  more  effectively  than  any 
conscious  exercise  of  thought. 

On  waking  in  the  morning,  before  you  rise,  repeat 
the  formula  in  exactly  the  same  manner. 

Its  regular  repetition  is  the  foundation  stone  of  the 
Nancy  method  and  should  never  be  neglected.  In 
times  of  health  it  may  be  regarded  as  an  envoy  going 
before  to  clear  the  path  of  whatever  evils  may 
lurk  in  the  future.  But  we  must  look  on  it  chiefly 
as  an  educator,  as  a  means  of  leavening  the  mass 
of  adverse  spontaneous  suggestions  which  clog  the 
Unconscious  and  rob  our  lives  of  their  true  signi- 
ficance. 

Say  it  with  faith.  When  you  have  said  it  your 
conscious  part  of  the  process  is  completed.  Leave 
the  Unconscious  to  do  its  work  undisturbed.  Do  not 
be  anxious  about  it,  continually  scanning  yourself 


THE  GENERAL  FORMULA  85 

for  signs  of  improvement.  The  farmer  does  not  turn 
over  the  clods  every  morning  to  see  if  his  seed  is 
sprouting.  Once  sown  it  is  left  till  the  green  blade 
appears.  So  it  should  be  with  suggestion.  Sow  the 
seed,  and  be  sure  the  Unconscious  powers  of  the  mind 
will  bring  it  to  fruition,  and  all  the  sooner  if  your 
conscious  ego  is  content  to  let  it  rest. 

Say  it  with  faith!  You  can  only  rob  Induced  Auto- 
suggestion of  its  power  in  one  way — by  believing  that 
it  is  powerless.  If  you  believe  this  it  becomes  ipso 
facto  powerless  for  you.  The  greater  your  faith  the 
more  radical  and  the  more  rapid  will  be  your  results; 
though  if  you  have  only  sufficient  faith  to  repeat  the 
formula  twenty  times  night  and  morning  the  results 
will  soon  give  you  in  your  own  person  the  proof  you 
desire,  and  facts  and  faith  will  go  on  mutually  aug- 
menting each  other. 

Faith  reposes  on  reason  and  must  have  its  grounds. 
What  grounds  can  we  adduce  for  faith  in  Induced 
Autosuggestion  ?  The  examples  of  cures  already  cited 
are  outside  your  experience  and  you  may  be  tempted 
to  pooh-pooh  them.  The  experiment  of  Chevreul's 
pendulum,  however,  will  show  in  a  simple  manner  the 
power  possessed  by  a  thought  to  transform  itself  into 
an  action. 

Take  a  piece  of  white  paper  and  draw  on  it  a 
circle  of  about  five  inches'  radius.  Draw  two  diameters 
A  B  and  C  D  at  right  angles  to  each  other  and  inter- 
secting at  O.  The  more  distinctly  the  lines  stand  out 
the  better — they  should  be  thickly  drawn  in  black  ink. 
Now  take  a  lead  pencil  or  a  light  ruler  and  tie  to  one 
end  a  piece  of  cotton  about  eight  inches  long;  to  the 
lower  end  of  the  cotton  fasten  a  heavy  metal  button, 
of  the  sort  used  on  a  soldier's  tunic.  Place  the  paper 


86     THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

on  a  table  so  that  the  diameter  A  B  seems  to  be  hori- 
zontal and  C  D  to  be  vertical,  thus : 


Stand  upright  before  the  table  with  your  miniature 
fishing-rod  held  firmly  in  both  hands  and  the  button 
suspended  above  the  point  O.  Take  care  not  to  press 
the  elbows  nervously  against  the  sides. 

Look  at  the  line  A  B,  think  of  it,  follow  it  with 
your  eyes  from  side  to  side.  Presently  the  button 
will  begin  to  swing  along  the  line  you  are  thinking 
of.  The  more  your  mind  dwells  easily  upon  the  idea 
of  the  line  the  greater  this  swing  becomes.  Your  ef- 
forts to  try  to  hold  the  pendulum  still,  by  bringing 
into  action  the  law  of  reversed  effort,  only  make  its 
oscillations  more  pronounced. 

Now  fix  your  eyes  on  the  line  CD.  The  button 
will  gradually  change  the  direction  of  its  movement, 
taking  up  that  of  CD.  When  you  have  allowed  it 
to  swing  thus  for  a  few  moments  transfer  your  at- 
tention to  the  circle,  follow  the  circumference  round 
and  round  with  your  eyes.  Once  more  the  swinging 
button  will  follow  you,  adopting  either  a  clock-wise  or 
a  counter  clock-wise  direction  according  to  your 


THE  GENERAL  FORMULA  87 

thought.  After  a  little  practice  you  should  produce  a 
circular  swing  with  a  diameter  of  at  least  eight  inches; 
but  your  success  will  be  directly  proportional  to  the 
exclusiveness  of  your  thought  and  to  your  efforts  to 
hold  the  pencil  still. 

Lastly  think  of  the  point  O.  Gradually  the  radius 
of  the  swing  will  diminish  until  the  button  comes  to 
rest. 

Is  it  necessary  to  point  out  how  these  movements 
are  caused?  Your  thought  of  the  line,  passing  into 
the  Unconscious,  is  there  realised,  so  that  without 
knowing  it  you  execute  with  your  hands  the  imper- 
ceptible movements  which  set  the  button  in  motion. 
The  Unconscious  automatically  realises  your  thought 
through  the  nerves  and  muscles  of  your  arms  and 
hands.  What  is  this  but  Induced  Autosuggestion  ? 

The  first  time  you  perform  this  little  experiment  it 
is  best  to  be  alone.  This  enables  you  to  approach  it 
quite  objectively. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
PARTICULAR  SUGGESTIONS 

THE  use  of  particular  suggestions  outlined  in  this 
chapter  is  of  minor  importance  compared  with  that 
of  the  general  formula — "  Day  by  day,  in  every  way, 
I'm  getting  better  and  better."  The  more  deeply 
Coue  pursues  his  investigations,  the  more  fully  he  be- 
comes convinced  that  all  else  is  secondary  to  this.  It 
is  not  difficult  to  make  a  guess  as  to  why  this  should 
be.  In  the  general  formula  the  attention  is  fully  ab- 
sorbed by  the  idea  of  betterment.  The  mind  is  di- 
rected away  from  all  that  hinders  and  impedes  and 
fixed  on  a  positive  goal.  In  formulating  particular 
suggestions,  however,  we  are  always  skating  on  the 
thin  ice  round  our  faults  and  ailments,  always  touching 
on  subjects  which  have  the  most  painful  associations. 
So  that  our  ideas  have  not  the  same  creative  positive- 
ness.  However  that  may  be,  it  is  a  matter  of  experi- 
ence that  the  general  formula  is  the  basis  of  the  whole 
method,  and  that  all  else  is  merely  an  adjuvant,  an 
auxiliary — useful,  but  inessential  to  the  main  object. 

We  have  seen  that  a  partial  outcropping  of  the  Un- 
conscious takes  place  whenever  we  relax  our  mental 
and  physical  control,  and  let  the  mind  wander;  in 
popular  language,  when  we  fall  into  a  "  brown  study  " 
or  a  "  day-dream."  This  outcropping  should  be  sought 
before  the  special  suggestions  are  formulated. 

But  again  we  must  beware  of  making  simple  things 
seem  hard.  Baudouin  would  have  us  perform  a  num- 


PARTICULAR  SUGGESTIONS  89 

her  of  elaborate  preparatives,  which,  however  valuable 
to  the  student  of  psychology,  serve  with  the  layman 
only  to  distract  the  mind,  and  by  fixing  the  attention 
on  the  mechanism  impair  the  power  of  the  creative 
idea.  Moreover,  they  cause  the  subject  to  exert  efforts 
to  attain  a  state  the  very  essence  of  which  is  effort- 
lessness, like  the  victim  of  insomnia  who  "  tries  his 
hardest "  to  fall  asleep. 

In  order  to  formulate  particular  suggestions,  go  to 
a  room  where  you  will  be  free  from  interruption, 
sit  down  in  a  comfortable  chair,  close  your  eyes,  and 
let  your  muscles  relax.  In  other  words,  act  precisely 
as  if  you  were  going  to  take  a  siesta.  In  doing  so 
you  allow  the  Unconscious  tide  to  rise  to  a  sufficient 
height  to  make  your  particular  suggestions  effective. 
Now  call  up  the  desired  ideas  through  the  medium  of 
speech.  Tell  yourself  that  such  and  such  ameliora- 
tions are  going  to  occur. 

But  here  we  must  give  a  few  hints  as  to  the  form 
these  suggestions  should  take. 

We  should  never  set  our  faith  a  greater  task  than 
it  can  accomplish.  A  patient  suffering  from  deafness 
would  be  ill-advised  to  make  the  suggestion :  "  I  can 
hear  perfectly."  In  the  partial  state  of  outcropping 
association  is  not  entirely  cut  off,  and  such  an  idea 
would  certainly  call  up  its  contrary.  Thus  we  should 
initiate  a  suggestion  antagonistic  to  the  one  we  desired. 
In  this  way  we  only  court  disappointment  and  by 
losing  faith  in  our  instrument  rob  it  of  its  effi- 
cacy. 

Further,  we  should  avoid  as  far  as  possible  all  men- 
tion of  the  ailment  or  difficulty  against  which  the  sug- 
gestion is  aimed.  Indeed,  our  own  attention  should 
be  directed  not  so  much  to  getting  rid  of  wrong  con- 


90     THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

i 

ditions  as  to  cultivating  the  opposite  right  ones  in 
their  place.  If  you  are  inclined  to  be  neurasthenic 
your  mind  is  frequently  occupied  with  fear.  This 
fear  haunts  you  because  some  thwarted  element  in 
your  personality,  surviving  in  the  Unconscious,  gains 
through  it  a  perverse  satisfaction.  In  other  words, 
your  Unconscious  enjoys  the  morbid  emotional  condi- 
tion which  fear  brings  with  it.  Should  you  succeed 
in  banishing  your  fears  you  would  probably  feel  dis- 
satisfied, life  would  seem  empty.  The  old  ideas  would 
beckon  you  with  promises,  not  of  happiness  truly,  but 
of  emotion  and  excitement.  But  if  your  suggestions 
take  a  positive  form,  if  you  fill  your  mind  with 
thoughts  of  self-confidence,  courage,  outward  activity, 
and  interest  in  the  glowing  and  vital  things  of  life,  the 
morbid  ideas  will  be  turned  out  of  doors  and  there  will 
be  no  vacant  spot  to  which  they  can  return. 

Whatever  the  disorder  may  be,  we  should  refer  to 
it  as  little  as  possible,  letting  the  whole  attention  go 
out  to  the  contrary  state  of  health.  We  must  dwell 
on  the  "  Yes-idea,"  affirming  with  faith  the  realisation 
of  our  hopes,  seeing  ourselves  endowed  with  the  tri- 
umphant qualities  we  lack.  For  a  similar  reason  we 
should  never  employ  a  form  of  words  which  connotes 
doubt.  The  phrases,  "  I  should  like  to,"  "  I  am  going 
to  try,"  if  realised  by  the  Unconscious,  can  only  pro- 
duce a  state  of  longing  or  desire,  very  different  from 
the  actual  physical  and  mental  modifications  we  are 
seeking. 

Finally,  we  should  not  speak  of  the  desired  improve- 
ment entirely  as  a  thing  of  the  future.  We  should 
affirm  that  the  change  has  already  begun,  and  will  con- 
tinue to  operate  more  and  more  rapidly  until  our  end 
is  fully  attained. 


PARTICULAR  SUGGESTIONS  91 

Here  are  a  few  examples  of  special  suggestions 
which  may  prove  useful. 

For  deafness:  Having  closed  the  eyes  and  relaxed 
body  and  mind,  say  to  yourself  something  of  this 
nature :  "  From  this  day  forth  my  hearing  will  grad- 
ually improve.  Each  day  I  shall  hear  a  little  better. 
Gradually  this  improvement  will  become  more  and 
more  rapid  until,  in  a  comparatively  short  space  of 
time,  I  shall  hear  quite  well  and  I  shall  continue  to  do 
so  until  the  end  of  my  life." 

A  person  suffering  from  unfounded  fears  and  fore- 
bodings might  proceed  as  follows :  "  From  to-day  on- 
ward I  shall  become  more  and  more  conscious  of  all 
that  is  happy,  positive  and  cheerful.  The  thoughts 
which  enter  my  mind  will  be  strong  and  healthful  ones. 
I  shall  gain  daily  in  self-confidence,  shall  believe  in  my 
own  powers,  which  indeed  at  the  same  time  will  mani- 
fest themselves  in  greater  strength.  My  life  is  grow- 
ing smoother,  easier,  brighter.  These  changes  become 
from  day  to  day  more  profound;  in  a  short  space  of 
time  I  shall  have  risen  to  a  new  plane  of  life,  and  all 
the  troubles  which  used  to  perplex  me  will  have  van- 
ished and  will  never  return." 

A  bad  memory  might  be  treated  in  some  such  terms 
as  these :  "  My  memory  from  to-day  on  will  improve 
in  every  department.  The  impressions  received  will 
be  clearer  and  more  definite ;  I  shall  retain  them  auto- 
matically and  without  any  effort  on  my  part,  and  when 
I  wish  to  recall  them  they  will  immediately  present 
themselves  in  their  correct  form  to  my  mind.  This 
improvement  will  be  accomplished  rapidly,  and  very 
soon  my  memory  will  be  better  than  it  has  ever  been 
before." 

Irritability  and  bad  temper  are  very  susceptible  to 


92     THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

autosuggestion  and  might  be  thus  treated :  "  Hence- 
forth I  shall  daily  grow  more  good-humoured. 
Equanimity  and  cheerfulness  will  become  my  normal 
states  of  mind,  and  in  a  short  time  all  the  little  hap- 
penings of  life  will  be  received  in  this  spirit.  I  shall 
be  a  centre  of  cheer  and  helpfulness  to  those  about 
me,  infecting  them  with  my  own  good  humour,  and 
this  cheerful  mood  will  become  so  habitual  that  nothing 
can  rob  me  of  it." 

Asthma  is  a  disease  which  has  always  baffled  and 
still  baffles  the  ordinary  methods  of  medicine.  It  has 
shown  itself,  however,  in  Coue's  experience,  pre-emi- 
nently susceptible  to  autosuggestive  treatment.  Par- 
ticular suggestions  for  its  removal  might  take  this 
form :  "  From  this  day  forward  my  breathing  will  be- 
come rapidly  easier.  Quite  without  my  knowledge, 
and  without  any  effort  on  my  part,  my  organism  will 
do  all  that  is  necessary  to  restore  perfect  health  to  my 
lungs  and  bronchial  passages.  I  shall  be  able  to  un- 
dergo any  exertion  without  inconvenience.  My  breath- 
ing will  be  free,  deep,  delightful.  I  shall  draw  in  all 
the  pure  health-giving  air  I  need,  and  thus  my  whole 
system  will  be  invigorated  and  strengthened.  More- 
over, I  shall  sleep  calmly  and  peacefully,  with  the  maxi- 
mum of  refreshment  and  repose,  so  that  I  awake  cheer- 
ful and  looking  forward  with  pleasure  to  the  day's 
tasks.  This  process  has  this  day  begun  and  in  a 
short  time  I  shall  be  wholly  and  permanently  restored 
to  health." 

It  will  be  noticed  that  each  of  these  suggestions 
comprises  three  stages :  ( i )  Immediate  commencement 
of  the  amelioration.  (2)  Rapid  progress.  (3)  Com- 
plete and  permanent  cure.  While  this  scheme  is  not 


PARTICULAR  SUGGESTIONS  93 

essential,  it  is  a  convenient  one  and  should  be  utilised 
whenever  applicable.  The  examples  are  framed  as  the 
first  autosuggestions  of  persons  new  to  the  method. 
On  succeeding  occasions  the  phrase  "  from  this  day 
forth,"  or  its  variants,  should  be  replaced  by  a  state- 
ment that  the  amelioration  has  already  begun.  Thus, 
in  the  case  of  the  asthmatic,  "  My  breathing  is  already 
becoming  easier,"  etc. 

Particular  suggestions,  though  subsidiary  in  value 
to  the  general  formula,  are  at  times  of  very  great 
service.  The  general  formula  looks  after  the  founda- 
tions of  our  life,  building  in  the  depths  where  eye 
cannot  see  or  ear  hear.  Particular  suggestions  are  use- 
ful on  the  surface.  By  their  means  we  can  deal  with 
individual  difficulties  as  they  arise.  The  two  methods 
are  complementary. 

Particular  suggestions  prove  very  valuable  in  re- 
inforcing and  rendering  permanent  the  effects  obtained 
by  the  technique  for  overcoming  pain,  which  will  be  out- 
lined in  the  next  chapter.  Before  commencing  the  at- 
tack we  should  sit  down,  close  our  eyes  and  say  calmly 
and  confidently  to  ourselves :  "  I  am  now  going  to  rid 
myself  of  this  pain."  When  the  desired  result  has 
been  obtained,  we  should  suggest  that  the  state  of  ease 
and  painlessness  now  re-established  will  be  permanent, 
that  the  affected  part  will  rapidly  be  toned  up  into  a 
condition  of  normal  health,  and  will  remain  always 
in  that  desirable  state.  Should  we  have  obtained  only 
a  lessening  of  the  trouble  without  its  complete  removal 
our  suggestion  should  take  this  form :  "I  have  ob- 
tained a  considerable  degree  of  relief,  and  in  the  next 
few  minutes  it  will  become  complete.  I  shall  be  re- 
stored to  my  normal  condition  of  health  and  shall  con- 


94     THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

tinue  so  for  the  future."  Thus  our  assault  upon  the 
pain  is  made  under  the  best  conditions,  and  should  in 
every  case  prove  successful. 

We  should  employ  particular  suggestions  also  for 
overcoming  the  difficulties  which  confront  us  from 
time  to  time  in  our  daily  lives,  and  for  securing  the 
full  success  of  any  task  we  take  in  hand.  The  use 
of  the  general  suggestion  will  gradually  strengthen 
our  self-confidence,  until  we  shall  expect  success  in 
any  enterprise  of  which  the  reason  approves.  But 
until  this  consummation  is  reached,  until  our  balance 
of  self-confidence  is  adequate  for  all  our  needs,  we 
can  obtain  an  overdraft  for  immediate  use  by  means 
of  particular  suggestion. 

We  have  already  seen  that  the  dimensions  of  any 
obstacle  depend  at  least  as  much  upon  our  mental 
attitude  towards  it  as  upon  its  intrinsic  difficulty.  The 
neurasthenic,  who  imagines  he  cannot  rise  from  his 
bed,  cannot  do  so  because  this  simple  operation  is  en- 
dowed by  his  mind  with  immense  difficulty.  The  great 
mass  of  normal  people  commit  the  same  fault  in  a  less 
degree.  Their  energy  is  expended  partly  in  doing  their 
daily  work,  and  partly  in  overcoming  the  resistance  in 
their  own  minds.  By  the  action  of  the  law  of  re- 
versed effort  the  negative  idea  they  foster  frequently 
brings  their  efforts  to  naught,  and  the  very  exertions 
they  make  condemn  their  activities  to  failure. 

For  this  reason  it  is  necessary,  before  undertaking 
any  task  which  seems  to  us  difficult,  to  suggest  that 
it  is  in  fact  easy.  We  close  our  eyes  and  say  quietly 
to  ourselves,  "  The  work  I  have  to  do  is  easy,  quite 
easy.  Since  it  is  easy  I  can  do  it,  and  I  shall  do  it 
efficiently  and  successfully.  Moreover,  I  shall  enjoy 
doing  it;  it  will  give  me  pleasure,  my  whole  person- 


PARTICULAR  SUGGESTIONS  95 

ality  will  apply  itself  harmoniously  to  the  task,  and  the 
results  will  be  even  beyond  my  expectation."  We 
should  dwell  on  these  ideas,  repeating  them  tranquilly 
and  effortlessly.  Soon  our  mind  will  become  serene, 
full  of  hope  and  confidence.  Then  we  can  begin  to 
think  out  our  method  of  procedure,  to  let  the  mind 
dwell  on  the  means  best  suited  to  attain  our  object. 
Since  the  impediments  created  by  fear  and  anxiety  are 
now  removed  our  ideas  will  flow  freely,  our  plans 
will  construct  themselves  in  the  quiet  of  the  mind,  and 
we  shall  come  to  the  actual  work  with  a  creative  vigour 
and  singleness  of  purpose. 

By  a  similar  procedure  the  problems  of  conduct 
which  defy  solution  by  conscious  thought  will  fre- 
quently yield  to  autosuggestion.  When  we  are  "  at 
our  wits'  ends,"  as  the  saying  goes,  to  discover  the 
best  path  out  of  a  dilemma,  when  choice  between  con- 
flicting possibilities  seems  impossible,  it  is  worse  than 
useless  to  continue  the  struggle.  The  law  of  reversed 
effort  is  at  work  paralysing  our  mental  faculties.  We 
should  put  it  aside,  let  the  waves  of  effort  subside, 
and  suggest  to  ourselves  that  at  a  particular  point  of 
time  the  solution  will  come  to  us  of  its  own  accord. 
If  we  can  conveniently  do  so,  it  is  well  to  let  a  period 
of  sleep  intervene,  to  suggest  that  the  solution  will 
come  to  us  on  the  morrow;  for  during  sleep  the  Un- 
conscious is  left  undisturbed  to  realise  in  its  own  way 
the  end  we  have  consciously  set  before  it. 

This  operation  often  takes  place  spontaneously,  as 
when  a  problem  left  unsolved  the  night  before  yields 
its  solution  apparently  by  an  inspiration  when  we  arise 
in  the  morning.  "  Sleep  on  it "  still  remains  the  best 
counsel  for  those  in  perplexity,  but  they  should  preface 
their  slumbers  by  the  positive  autosuggestion  that  on 


96     THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

waking  they  will  find  the  difficulty  resolved.  In  this 
connection  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  autosuggestion 
is  already  widely  made  use  of  as  a  means  of  waking 
at  a  particular  hour.  A  person  who  falls  asleep  with 
the  idea  in  his  mind  of  the  time  at  which  he  wishes 
to  wake,  will  wake  at  that  time.  It  may  be  added  that 
wherever  sleep  is  utilised  for  the  realisation  of  particu- 
lar suggestions,  these  suggestions  should  be  made  in 
addition  to  the  general  formula,  either  immediately  be- 
fore or  immediately  after;  they  should  never  be  sub- 
stituted for  it. 

With  some  afflictions,  such  as  fits,  the  attack  is 
often  so  sudden  and  unexpected  that  the  patient  is 
smitten  down  before  he  has  a  chance  to  defend  him- 
self. Particular  suggestions  should  be  aimed  first  of 
all  at  securing  due  warning  of  the  approaching  at- 
tack. We  should  employ  such  terms  as  these :  "  In 
future  I  shall  always  know  well  in  advance  when  a  fit 
is  coming  on.  I  shall  be  amply  warned  of  its  ap- 
proach. When  these  warnings  occur  I  shall  feel  no 
fear  or  anxiety.  I  shall  be  quite  confident  of  my  power 
to  avert  it."  As  soon  as  the  warning  comes — as  it 
will  come,  quite  unmistakably — the  sufferer  should  iso- 
late himself  and  use  a  particular  suggestion  to  prevent 
the  fit  from  developing.  He  should  first  suggest  calm 
and  self-control,  then  affirm  repeatedly,  but  of  course 
without  effort,  that  the  normal  state  of  health  is  re- 
asserting itself,  that  the  mind  is  fully  under  control, 
and  that  nothing  can  disturb  its  balance.  All  sudden 
paroxysms,  liable  to  take  us  unexpectedly,  should  be 
treated  by  the  same  method,  which  in  Coue's  experi- 
ence has  amply  justified  itself. 

Nervous  troubles  and  violent  emotions,  such  as  fear 
and  anger,  often  express  themselves  by  physical  move- 


PARTICULAR  SUGGESTIONS  97 

ments.  Fear  may  cause  trembling,  palpitation,  chat- 
tering of  the  teeth;  anger  a  violent  clenching  of  the 
fists.  Baudouin  advises  that  particular  suggestions  in 
these  cases  should  be  directed  rather  against  the  motor 
expression  than  against  the  psychic  cause,  that  our  aim 
should  be  to  cultivate  a  state  of  physical  impassibility. 
But  since  a  positive  suggestion  possesses  greater  force 
than  a  negative,  it  would  seem  better  to  attack  simul- 
taneously both  the  cause  and  the  effect.  Instead  of 
anger,  suggest  that  you  will  feel  sympathy,  patience, 
good-humour,  and  consequently  that  your  bodily  state 
will  be  easy  and  unconstrained. 

A  form  of  particular  suggestion  which  possesses 
distinct  advantages  of  its  own  is  the  quiet  repetition 
of  a  single  word.  If  your  mind  is  distracted  and  con- 
fused, sit  down,  close  your  eyes,  and  murmur  slowly 
and  reflectively  the  single  word  "  Calm."  Say  it  rev- 
erently, drawing  it  out  to  its  full  length  and  pausing 
after  each  repetition.  'Gradually  your  mind  will  be 
stilled  and  quietened,  and  you  will  be  rilled  with  a  sense 
of  harmony  and  peace.  This  method  seems  most  ap- 
plicable to  the  attainment  of  moral  qualities.  An  evil 
passion  can  be  quelled  by  the  use  of  the  word  denoting 
the  contrary  virtue.  The  power  of  the  word  depends 
largely  upon  its  aesthetic  and  moral  associations. 
Words  like  joy,  strength,  love,  purity,  denoting  the 
highest  ideals  of  the  human  mind,  possess  great  po- 
tency and  are  capable,  thus  used,  of  dispelling  mental 
states  in  which  their  opposites  predominate.  The 
name  Reflective  Suggestion,  which  Baudouin  applies 
indifferently  to  all  autosuggestions  induced  by  the  sub- 
ject's own  choice,  might  well  be  reserved  for  this  spe- 
cific form  of  particular  suggestion. 

The  field  for  the  exercise  of  particular  suggestions 


98      THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

is  practically  limitless.  Whenever  you  feel  a  need  for 
betterment,  of  whatever  nature  it  may  be,  a  particular 
suggestion  will  help  you.  But  it  must  once  more  be 
repeated  that  these  particular  suggestions  are  merely 
aids  and  auxiliaries,  which  may,  if  leisure  is  scant,  be 
neglected. 


CHAPTER  IX 
HOW  TO  DEAL  WITH  PAIN 

PAIN,  whether  of  mind  or  body,  introduces  a  new 
element  for  which  we  have  hitherto  made  no  provision. 
By  monopolising  the  attention  it  keeps  the  conscious 
mind  fully  alert  and  so  prevents  one  from  attaining 
the  measure  of  outcropping  needful  to  initiate  success- 
fully an  autosuggestion.  Thus  if  we  introduce  the 
"  no-pain  "  idea  into  the  conscious,  it  is  overwhelmed 
by  its  contrary — pain,  and  the  patient's  condition  be- 
comes, if  anything,  worse. 

To  overcome  this  difficulty  quite  a  new  method  is 
required.  If  we  speak  a  thought,  that  thought,  while 
we  speak  it,  must  occupy  our  minds.  We  could  not 
speak  it  unless  we  thought  it.  By  continually  repeat- 
ing "  I  have  no  pain  "  the  sufferer  constantly  renews 
that  thought  in  his  mind.  Unfortunately,  after  each 
repetition  the  pain-thought  insinuates  itself,  so  that 
the  mind  oscillates  between  "  I  have  no  pain  "  and 
"  I  have  some  pain,"  or  "  I  have  a  bad  pain."  But 
if  we  repeat  our  phrase  so  rapidly  that  the  contrary 
association  has  no  time  to  insert  itself,  we  compel  the 
mind  willy-nilly  to  dwell  on  it.  Thus  by  a  fresh  path 
we  reach  the  same  goal  as  that  attained  by  induced  out- 
cropping; we  cause  an  idea  to  remain  in  occupation  of 
the  mind  without  calling  up  a  contrary  association. 
This  we  found  to  be  the  prime  condition  of  accepta- 
tion, and  in  fact  by  this  means  we  can  compel  the  Un- 
conscious to  realise  the  "  no-pain  "  thought  and  so  put 
an  end  to  the  pain. 

99 


100     THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

But  the  sentence  "  I  have  no  pain  "  does  not  lend 
itself  to  rapid  repetition.  The  physical  difficulties  are 
too  great ;  the  tongue  and  lips  become  entangled  in  the 
syllables  and  we  hay  to  stop  to  restore  order.  Even 
if  we  were  dexterous  enough  to  articulate  the  words 
successfully,  we  should  only  meet  with  a  new  diffi- 
culty. The  most  emphatic  word  in  the  phrase  is 
"  pain  " ;  involuntarily  we  should  find  ourself  stressing 
this  word  with  particular  force,  so  strengthening  in 
our  minds  the  very  idea  we  are  trying  to  dislodge. 

We  shall  do  best  to  copy  as  closely  as  we  can  Coue's 
own  procedure.  The  phrase  he  uses,  "  c.a  passe," 
makes  no  mention  of  the  hurt;  it  is  extremely  easy  to 
say,  and  it  produces  an  unbroken  stream  of  sound,  like 
the  whirr  of  a  machine  or  the  magnified  buzz  of  an 
insect,  which,  as  it  were,  carries  the  mind  off  its  feet. 
The  phrase  recommended  by  Baudouin,  "  It  is  passing 
off,"  produces  no  such  effect,  and  in  fact  defies  all 
our  attempts  to  repeat  it  quickly.  On  the  whole,  the 
most  suitable  English  version  seems  to  be  "  It's  going." 
Only  the  word  "  going  "  should  be  repeated,  and  the 
treatment  should  conclude  with  the  emphatic  statement 
"gone!"  The  word  "going,"  rapidly  gabbled,  gives 
the  impression  of  a  mechanical  drill,  biting  its  way  ir- 
resistibly into  some  hard  substance.  We  can  think  of 
it  as  drilling  the  desired  thought  into  the  mind. 

If  you  are  suffering  from  any  severe  pain,  such  as 
toothache  or  headache,  sit  down,  close  your  eyes  and 
assure  yourself  calmly  that  you  are  going  to  get  rid  of 
it.  Now  gently  stroke  with  your  hand  the  affected  part 
and  repeat  at  the  same  time  as  fast  as  you  can,  pro- 
ducing a  continuous  stream  of  sound,  the  words :  "  It's 
going,  going,  going  .  .  .  gone ! "  Keep  it  up  for 
about  a  minute,  pausing  only  to  take  a  deep  breath 


HOW  TO  DEAL  WITH  PAIN  101 

when  necessary,  and  using  the  word  "  gone  "  only  at 
the  conclusion  of  the  whole  proceeding.  At  the  end 
of  this  time  the  pain  will  either  have  entirely  ceased 
or  at  least  sensibly  abated.  In  either  case  apply  the 
particular  suggestions  recommended  in  the  previous 
chapter.  If  the  pain  has  ceased  suggest  that  it  will  not 
return;  if  it  has  only  diminished  suggest  that  it  will 
shortly  pass  away  altogether.  Now  return  to  what- 
ever employment  you  were  engaged  in  when  the  pain 
began.  Let  other  interests  occupy  your  attention.  If 
in  a  reasonable  space,  say  half  an  hour,  the  pain  still 
troubles  you,  isolate  yourself  again ;  suggest  once  more 
that  you  are  going  to  master  it,  and  repeat  the  pro- 
cedure. 

It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  by  this  process 
any  pain  can  be  conquered.  It  may  be,  in  extreme 
cases,  that  you  will  have  to  return  several  times  to  the 
attack..  This  will  generally  occur  when  you  have  been 
foolish  enough  to  supply  the  pain  with  a  cause — a  de- 
cayed tooth,  a  draught  of  cold  air,  etc. — and  so  jus- 
tify it  to  your  reason,  and  give  it,  so  to  speak,  an  in- 
tellectual sanction.  Or  it  may  be  that  it  will  cease  only 
to  return  again.  But  do  not  be  discouraged ;  attack  it 
firmly  and  you  are  bound  to  succeed. 

The  same  procedure  is  equally  effective  with  dis- 
tressing states  of  mind,  worry,  fear,  despondency.  In 
such  cases  the  stroking  movement  of  the  hand  should 
be  applied  to  the  forehead. 

Even  in  this  exercise  no  more  effort  should  be  used 
than  is  necessary.  Simply  repeat  rapidly  the  word 
which  informs  you  that  the  trouble  is  going,  and  let 
this,  with  the  stroking  movement  of  the  hand,  which, 
as  it  were,  fixes  the  attention  to  that  particular  spot, 
be  the  sum  and  substance  of  your  effort.  With  prac- 


102     THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

tice  it  will  become  easier,  you  will  "  drop  into  it  " ;  that 
is  to  say,  the  Unconscious  will  perform  the  adaptations 
necessary  to  make  it  more  effective.  After  a  time  you 
should  be  able  to  obtain  relief  in  twenty  to  twenty-five 
seconds.  But  the  effect  is  still  more  far-reaching;  you 
will  be  delivered  from  the  fear  of  pain.  Regarding 
yourself  as  its  master,  you  will  be  able  with  the  mere 
threat  of  treatment  to  prevent  it  from  developing. 
You  will  hang  up  a  card,  "  No  admittance,"  on  the 
doors  of  your  conscious  mind. 

It  may  be  that  the  pain  attacks  you  in  the  street 
or  in  a  workshop ;  in  some  public  place  where  the  audi- 
ble repetition  of  the  phrase  would  attract  attention.  In 
that  case  it  is  best  to  close  the  eyes  for  a  moment  and 
formulate  this  particular  suggestion :  "  I  shall  not  add 
to  this  trouble  by  thinking  about  it;  my  mind  will  be 
occupied  by  other  things ;  but  on  the  first  opportunity 
I  shall  make  it  pass  away."  Then  as  soon  as  you  can 
conveniently  do  so  make  use  of  the  phrase  "  It's  go- 
ing." When  you  have  become  expert  in  the  use  of 
this  form  of  suggestion  you  will  be  able  to  exorcise 
the  trouble  by  repeating  the  phrase  mentally — at  any 
rate  if  the  words  are  outlined  with  the  lips  and  tongue. 
But  the  beginner  should  rely  for  a  time  entirely  on 
audible  treatment.  By  dropping  it  too  soon  he  will 
only  court  disappointment. 

It  sometimes  happens  that  a  patient  is  so  prostrated 
by  pain  or  misery  that  he  has  not  the  energy  to  un- 
dertake even  the  repetition  of  the  word  "  going." 
The  pain-thought  so  obsesses  the  mind  that  the  state 
of  painlessness  seems  too  remote  even  to  contemplate. 
Under  these  circumstances  it  seems  best  to  employ  this 
strategy.  Lie  down  on  a  bed,  sofa,  or  arm-chair  and 
relax  both  mind  and  body.  Cease  from  all  effort — 


HOW  TO  DEAL  WITH  PAIN  103 

which  can  only  make  things  worse — and  let  the  pain- 
thought  have  its  way.  After  a  time  your  energies  will 
begin  to  collect  themselves,  your  mind  to  reassert  its 
control.  Now  make  a  firm  suggestion  of  success  and 
apply  the  method.  Get  another  person  to  help  you,  as 
Coue  helps  his  patients,  by  performing  the  passes  with 
the  hand  and  repeating  the  phrase  with  you.  By  this 
means  you  can  make  quite  sure  of  success.  This  seem- 
ingly contradictory  proceeding  is  analogous  to  that  of 
the  angler  "  playing  "  a  fish.  He  waits  till  it  has  run 
its  course  before  bringing  his  positive  resources  into 
play. 

Baudouin  recommends  an  analogous  proceeding  as 
a  weapon  against  insomnia.  The  patient,  he  says, 
should  rapidly  repeat  the  phrase,  "  I  am  going  to 
sleep,"  letting  his  mind  be  swept  away  by  a  torrent 
of  words.  Once  more  the  objection  arises  that  the 
phrase  "  I  am  going  to  sleep  "  is  not  such  as  we  can 
rapidly  repeat.  But  even  if  we  substitute  for  it  some 
simple  phrase  which  can  be  easily  articulated  it  is 
doubtful  whether  it  will  succeed  in  more  than  a  small 
percentage  of  cases.  Success  is  more  likely  to  attend 
us  if  we  avail  ourselves  of  the  method  of  reflective 
repetition  mentioned  in  the  last  chapter.  We  should 
take  up  the  position  most  favourable  to  slumber  and 
then  repeat  slowly  and  contemplatively  the  word 
"  Sleep."  The  more  impersonal  our  attitude  towards 
the  idea  the  more  rapidly  it  will  be  realised  in  our  own 
slumbers. 


CHAPTER  X 
AUTOSUGGESTION  AND  THE  CHILD 

IN  treating  children  it  should  be  remembered  that 
autosuggestion  is  primarily  not  a  remedy  but  a  means 
of  insuring  healthy  growth.  It  should  not  be  reserved 
for  times  when  the  child  is  sick,  but  provided  daily, 
with  the  same  regularity  as  meals. 

Children  grow  up  weakly  not  from  lack  of  energy, 
but  because  of  a  waste  and  misapplication  of  it.  The 
inner  conflict,  necessitated  by  the  continual  process  of 
adaptation  which  we  call  growth,  is  often  of  quite  un- 
necessary violence,  not  only  making  a  great  temporary 
demand  on  the  child's  vital  energy,  but  even  locking  it 
up  in  the  Unconscious  in  the  form  of  "  complexes," 
so  that  its  future  life  is  deprived  of  a  portion  of  its 
due  vitality.  A  wise  use  of  autosuggestion  will  pre- 
clude these  disasters.  Growth  will  be  ordered  and  con- 
trolled. The  necessary  conflicts  will  be  brought  to  a 
successful  issue,  the  unnecessary  ones  avoided. 

Autosuggestion  may  very  well  begin  before  the  child 
is  born.  It  is  a  matter  of  common  knowledge  that  a 
mother  must  be  shielded  during  pregnancy  from  any 
experience  involving  shock  or  fright,  since  these  exert 
a  harmful  effect  on  the  developing  embryo,  and  may  in 
extreme  cases  result  in  abortion,  or  in  physical  de- 
formity or  mental  weakness  in  the  child.  Instances  of 
this  ill-effect  are  comparatively  common,  and  the  link 
between  cause  and  effect  is  often  unmistakable.  There 
is  no  need  to  point  out  that  these  cases  are  nothing 
104 


AUTOSUGGESTION  AND  THE  CHILD   105 

more  than  spontaneous  autosuggestions  operating  in 
the  maternal  Unconscious ;  since  during  pregnancy  the 
mother  moulds  her  little  one  not  only  by  the  food  she 
eats  but  also  by  the  thoughts  she  thinks.  The  height- 
ened emotionality  characteristic  of  this  state  bespeaks 
an  increased  tendency  to  outcropping,  and  so  an  in- 
creased suggestibility.  Thus  spontaneous  autosugges- 
tions are  far  more  potent  than  in  the  normal  course  of 
life.  But,  happily,  induced  autosuggestions  are  aided 
by  the  same  conditions,  so  that  the  mother  awake  to 
her  powers  and  duties  can  do  as  much  good  as  the 
ignorant  may  do  harm. 

Without  going  into  debatable  questions,  such  as  the 
possibility  of  predetermining  the  sex  of  the  child  to  be 
born,  one  can  find  many  helpful  ways  of  aiding  and 
benefiting  the  growing  life  by  autosuggestive  means. 
The  mother  should  avoid  with  more  than  ordinary 
care  all  subjects,  whether  in  reading  or  conversation, 
which  bear  on  evil  in  any  form,  and  she  should  seek 
whatever  uplifts  the  mind  and  furnishes  it  with  beau- 
tiful and  joyous  thought.  But  the  technical  methods 
of  autosuggestion  can  also  be  brought  into  action. 

The  mother  should  suggest  to  herself  that  her  or- 
ganism is  furnishing  the  growing  life  with  all  it  needs, 
and  that  the  child  will  be  strong  and  healthy  in  mind, 
in  body,  and  in  character. 

These  suggestions  should  be  in  general  terms  bear- 
ing on  qualities  of  undoubted  good,  for  obviously  it 
is  not  desirable  to  define  an  independent  life  too  nar- 
rowly. They  need  consist  only  of  a  few  sentences, 
and  should  be  formulated  night  and  morning  immedi- 
ately before  or  after  the  general  formula.  Further- 
more, when  the  mother's  thoughts  during  the  day  stray 
to  the  subject  of  her  child,  she  can  take  this  oppor- 


106     THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

tunity  to  repeat  the  whole  or  some  part  of  the  particu- 
lar suggestion  she  has  chosen.  These  few  simple  meas- 
ures will  amply  suffice.  Any  undue  tendency  of  the 
mind  to  dwell  on  the  thought  of  the  child,  even  in  the 
form  of  good  suggestions,  should  not  be  encouraged. 
A  normal  mental  life  is  in  itself  the  best  of  conditions 
for  the  welfare  of  both  mother  and  child.  For  her 
own  sake  however  the  mother  might  well  suggest  that 
the  delivery  will  be  painless  and  easy. 

The  only  direct  means  of  autosuggestion  applicable 
to  the  child  for  some  months  after  birth  is  that  of 
the  caress,  though  it  must  be  remembered  that  the 
mental  states  of  mother  and  nurse  are  already  stamp- 
ing themselves  on  the  little  mind,  forming  it  inevitably 
for  better  or  worse.  Should  any  specific  trouble  arise, 
the  method  of  Mile.  Kauffmant  should  be  applied  by 
the  mother.  Taking  the  child  on  her  knee  she  should 
gently  caress  the  affected  part,  thinking  the  while  of 
its  reinstatement  in  perfect  health.  It  seems  generally 
advisable  to  express  these  thoughts  in  words.  Ob- 
viously, the  words  themselves  will  mean  nothing  to  an 
infant  of  two  or  three  months,  but  they  will  hold  the 
mother's  thought  in  the  right  channel,  and  this  thought, 
by  the  tone  of  her  voice,  the  touch  of  her  hand,  will 
be  communicated  to  the  child.  Whether  telepathy 
plays  any  part  in  this  process  we  need  not  inquire, 
but  the  baby  is  psychically  as  well  as  physically  so 
dependent  on  the  mother  that  her  mental  states  are 
communicated  by  means  quite  ineffective  with  adults. 
Love  in  itself  exerts  a  suggestive  power  of  the  high- 
est order. 

When  the  child  shows  signs  of  understanding  what 
is  said  to  it,  before  it  begins  itself  to  speak,  the  follow- 
ing method  should  be  applied.  After  the  little  one  has 


AUTOSUGGESTION  AND  THE  CHILD   107 

fallen  asleep  at  night  the  mother  enters  the  room,  tak- 
ing care  not  to  awaken  it,  and  stands  about  a  yard  from 
the  head  of  the  cot.  She  proceeds  then  to  formulate 
in  a  whisper  such  suggestions  as  seem  necessary.  If 
the  child  is  ailing  the  suggestion  might  take  the  form 
of  the  phrase  "  You  are  getting  better "  repeated 
twenty  times.  If  it  is  in  health  the  general  formula 
will  suffice.  Particular  suggestions  may  also  be  for- 
mulated bearing  on  the  child's  health,  character,  intel- 
lectual development,  etc.  These  of  course  should  be 
in  accordance  with  the  instructions  given  in  the  chapter 
devoted  to  particular  suggestions.  On  withdrawing, 
the  mother  should  again  be  careful  not  to  awaken  the 
little  one.  Should  it  show  signs  of  waking,  the  whis- 
pered command  "  sleep,"  repeated  several  times,  will 
lull  it  again  to  rest.  Baudouin  recommends  that  dur- 
ing these  suggestions  the  mother  should  lay  her  hand 
on  the  child's  forehead.  The  above,  however,  is  the 
method  preferred  by  Coue. 

This  nightly  practice  is  the  most  effective  means 
of  conveying  autosuggestions  to  the  child-mind.  It 
should  be  made  a  regular  habit  which  nothing  is  al- 
lowed to  interrupt.  If  for  any  reason  the  mother  is 
unable  to  perform  it,  her  place  may  be  taken  by  the 
father,  the  nurse,  or  some  relative.  But  for  obvious 
reasons  the  duty  belongs  by  right  to  the  mother,  and, 
when  a  few  weeks'  practice  has  revealed  its  beneficent 
power,  few  mothers  will  be  willing  to  delegate  it  to  a 
less  suitable  agent. 

This  practice,  as  stated  above,  may  well  begin  before 
the  child  has  actually  learned  to  speak,  for  its  Un- 
conscious will  already  be  forming  a  scheme  more  or 
less  distinct  of  the  significance  of  the  sounds  that  reach 
it,  and  will  not  fail  to  gather  the  general  tenor  of  the 


108     THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

words  spoken.  The  date  at  which  it  should  be  dis- 
continued is  less  easy  to  specify.  Growth,  to  be  healthy, 
must  carry  with  it  a  gradual  increase  in  independence 
and  self-sufficiency.  There  seems  to  be  some  slight 
danger  that  the  practice  of  nightly  suggestions,  if  con- 
tinued too  long,  might  prolong  unduly  the  state  of 
dependence  upon  parental  support.  Reliable  indica- 
tions on  this  point  are  furnished,  however,  by  the  child 
itself.  As  soon  as  it  is  able  to  face  its  daily  problems 
for  itself,  when  it  no  longer  runs  to  the  parent  for 
help  and  advice  in  every  little  difficulty,  the  time  will 
have  arrived  for  the  parental  suggestions  to  cease. 

As  soon  as  a  child  is  able  to  speak  it  should  be  taught 
to  repeat  the  general  formula  night  and  morning  in 
the  same  way  as  an  adult.  Thus  when  the  time  comes 
to  discontinue  the  parent's  suggestions  their  effect  will 
be  carried  on  by  those  the  child  formulates  itself. 
There  is  one  thing  more  to  add :  in  the  case  of  boys  it 
would  seem  better  at  the  age  of  seven  or  eight  for 
the  father  to  replace  the  mother  in  the  role  of  sug- 
gester,  while  the  mother,  of  course,  performs  the  of- 
fice throughout  for  her  girls.  Should  any  signs  ap- 
pear that  the  period  of  puberty  is  bringing  with  it  un- 
due difficulties  or  perils,  the  nightly  practice  might  be 
resumed  in  the  form  of  particular  suggestions  bear- 
ing on  the  specific  difficulties.  It  must  be  remembered, 
however,  that  the  child's  sexual  problem  is  essentially 
different  from  that  of  the  adult,  and  the  suggestions 
must  therefore  be  in  the  most  general  terms.  Here 
as  elsewhere  the  end  alone  should  be  suggested,  the 
Unconscious  being  left  free  to  choose  its  own  means. 

As  soon  as  the  child  has  learnt  to  speak  it  should 
not  be  allowed  to  suffer  pain.  The  best  method  to 
adopt  is  that  practised  by  Coue  in  his  consultations. 


AUTOSUGGESTION  AND  THE  CHILD    109 

Let  the  child  close  its  eyes  and  repeat  with  the  parent, 
"  It's  going,  going  .  .  .  gone !  "  while  the  latter  gently 
strokes  the  affected  part.  But  as  soon  as  possible  the 
child  should  be  encouraged  to  overcome  smaller  diffi- 
culties for  itself,  until  the  parent's  help  is  eventually 
almost  dispensed  with.  This  is  a  powerful  means  of 
developing  self-reliance  and  fostering  the  sense  of 
superiority  to  difficulties  which  will  be  invaluable  in 
later  life. 

That  children  readily  take  to  the  practice  is  shown 
by  these  examples,  which  are  again  quoted  from  letters 
received  by  Coue. 

"  Your  youngest  disciple  is  our  little  David.  The 
poor  little  chap  had  an  accident  to-day.  Going  up 
in  the  lift  with  his  father,  when  quite  four  feet  up, 
he  fell  out  on  his  head  and  on  to  a  hard  stone  floor. 
He  was  badly  bruised  and  shocked,  and  when  put  to 
bed  lay  still  and  kept  saying :  '  ga  passe,  ga  passe/  over 
and  over  again,  and  then  looked  up  and  said,  '  no,  not 
gone  away.'  To-night  he  said  again  '  ga  passe '  and 
then  added,  '  nearly  gone.'  So  he  is  better." 

B.  K.  (London). 

8  January,  1922. 

Another  lady  writes: 

"  Our  cook's  little  niece,  aged  23  months — the  one 
we  cured  of  bronchitis — gave  herself  a  horrid  blow 
on  the  head  yesterday.  Instead  of  crying  she  began 
to  smile,  passed  her  hand  over  the  place  and  said 
sweetly,  '  ga  passe.'  Hasn't  she  been  well  brought 
up?" 

All  these  methods  are  extremely  simple  and  involve 
little  expenditure  of  time  and  none  of  money.  They 
have  proved  their  efficacy  over  and  over  again  in 


110     THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

Nancy,  and  there  is  no  reason  why  a  mother  of  average 
intelligence  and  conscientiousness  should  not  obtain 
equally  good  results.  Naturally,  first  attempts  will 
be  a  little  awkward,  but  there  is  no  need  for  discour- 
agement on  that  account.  Even  supposing  that 
through  the  introduction  of  effort  some  slight  harm 
were  done — and  the  chance  is  comparatively  remote — 
this  need  cause  no  alarm.  The  right  autosuggestion 
will  soon  counteract  it  and  produce  positive  good  in 
its  place.  But  any  mother  who  has  practised  auto- 
suggestion for  herself  will  be  able  correctly  to  apply  it 
to  her  child. 

At  first  glance  the  procedure  may  seem  revolutionary, 
but  think  it  over  for  a  moment  and  you  will  see  that 
it  is  as  old  as  the  hills.  It  is  merely  a  systematisa- 
tion  on  a  scientific  basis  of  the  method  mothers  have 
intuitively  practised  since  the  world  began.  "  Sleep, 
baby,  sleep.  Angels  are  watching  o'er  thee," — what 
is  this  but  a  particular  suggestion  ?  How  does  a  wise 
mother  proceed  when  her  little  one  falls  and  grazes  its 
hand?  She  says  something  of  this  kind:  "Let  me 
kiss  it  and  then  it  will  be  well."  She  kisses  it,  and 
with  her  assurance  that  the  pain  has  gone  the  child 
runs  happily  back  to  its  play.  This  is  only  a  charming 
variation  of  the  method  of  the  caress. 


CHAPTER  XI 
CONCLUSION 

INDUCED  Autosuggestion  is  not  a  substitute  for  medi- 
cal practice.  It  will  not  make  us  live  for  ever,  neither 
will  it  free  us  completely  from  the  common  ills  of  life. 
What  it  may  do  in  the  future,  when  all  its  implica- 
tions have  been  realised,  all  its  resources  exploited, 
we  cannot  say.  There  is  no  doubt  that  a  generation 
brought  up  by  its  canons  would  differ  profoundly  from 
the  disease-ridden  population  of  to-day.  But  our  im- 
mediate interest  is  with  the  present. 

The  adult  of  to-day  carries  in  his  Unconscious  a 
memory  clogged  with  a  mass  of  adverse  suggestions 
which  have  been  accumulating  since  childhood. 
The  first  task  of  Induced  Autosuggestion  will  be 
to  clear  away  this  mass  of  mental  lumber.  Not  until 
this  has  been  accomplished  can  the  real  man  appear 
and  the  creative  powers  of  autosuggestion  begin  to 
manifest  themselves. 

By  the  use  of  this  method  each  one  of  us  should 
be  able  to  look  forward  to  a  life  in  which  disease 
is  a  diminishing  factor.  But  how  great  a  part  it  will 
play  depends  upon  the  conditions  we  start  from  and 
the  regularity  and  correctness  of  our  practice.  Should 
disease  befall  us  we  possess  within  a  potent  means  of 
expelling  it,  but  this  does  not  invalidate  the  comple- 
mentary method  of  destroying  it  from  without.  Auto- 
suggestion and  the  usual  medical  practice  should  go 
in 


112     THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

hand  in  hand,  each  supplementing  the  other.  If  you 
are  ill,  call  in  your  doctor  as  before,  but  enlist  the 
resources  of  Induced  Autosuggestion  to  reinforce  and 
extend  his  treatment. 

In  this  connection  it  must  be  insisted  on  that  auto- 
suggestion should  be  utilised  for  every  ailment,  what- 
ever its  nature,  and  whether  its  inroads  be  grave  or 
slight.  Every  disease  is  either  strengthened  or  weak- 
ened by  the  action  of  the  mind.  We  cannot  take  up 
an  attitude  of  neutrality.  Either  we  must  aid  the 
disease  to  destroy  us  by  allowing  our  minds  to  dwell 
on  it,  or  we  must  oppose  it  and  destroy  it  by  a  stream 
of  healthful  dynamic  thought.  Too  frequently  we 
spontaneously  adopt  the  former  course. 

The  general  opinion  that  functional  and  nervous  dis- 
eases alone  are  susceptible  to  suggestive  treatment  is  at 
variance  with  the  facts.  During  Coue's  thirty  years 
of  practice,  in  which  many  thousands  of  cases  have 
been  treated,  he  has  found  that  organic  troubles  yield 
as  easily  as  functional,  that  bodily  derangements  are 
even  easier  to  cure  than  nervous  and  mental.  He 
makes  no  such  distinctions;  an  illness  is  an  illness 
whatever  its  nature.  As  such  Coue  attacks  it,  and  in 
98  per  cent,  of  cases  he  attains  in  greater  or  less  de- 
gree a  positive  result. 

Apart  from  the  permanently  insane,  in  whose  minds 
the  machinery  of  autosuggestion  is  itself  deranged, 
there  are  only  two  classes  of  patient  with  whom  In- 
duced Autosuggestion  seems  to  fail.  One  consists  of 
persons  whose  intelligence  is  so  low  that  the  directions 
given  are  never  comprehended ;  the  other  of  those  who 
lack  the  power  of  voluntary  attention  and  cannot 
devote  their  minds  to  an  idea  even  for  a  few  consecu- 
tive seconds.  These  two  classes,  however,  are  nu- 


CONCLUSION  113 

merically  insignificant,  together  making  up  not  much 
more  than  2  per  cent,  of  the  population. 

Autosuggestion  is  equally  valuable  as  an  aid  to 
surgical  practice.  A  broken  bone — the  sceptic's  last 
resource — cannot  of  course  be  treated  by  autosugges- 
tion alone.  A  surgeon  must  be  called  in  to  mend  it. 
But  when  the  limb  has  been  rightly  set  and  the  neces- 
sary mechanical  precautions  have  been  taken,  auto- 
suggestion will  provide  the  best  possible  conditions  for 
recovery.  It  can  prevent  lameness,  stiffness,  unsightly 
deformity  and  the  other  evils  which  a  broken  limb  is 
apt  to  entail,  and  it  will  shorten  considerably  the  nor- 
mal period  of  convalescence. 

It  is  sometimes  stated  that  the  results  obtained  by 
autosuggestion  are  not  permanent.  This  objection  is 
really  artificial,  arising  from  the  fact  that  we  ignore 
the  true  nature  of  autosuggestion  and  regard  it  merely 
as  a  remedy.  When  we  employ  autosuggestion  to  heal 
a  malady  our  aim  is  so  to  leaven  the  Unconscious  with 
healthful  thoughts,  that  not  only 'will  that  specific 
malady  be  excluded,  but  all  others  with  it.  Autosug- 
gestion should  not  only  remove  a  particular  form  of 
disease,  but  the  tendency  to  all  disease. 

If  after  an  ailment  has  been  removed  we  allow  our 
mind  to  revert  to  unhealthy  thoughts,  they  will  tend 
to  realise  themselves  in  the  same  way  as  any  others, 
and  we  may  again  fall  a  victim  to  ill-health.  Our 
sickness  may  take  the  same  form  as  on  the  preceding 
occasion,  or  it  may  not.  That  will  depend  on  the 
nature  of  our  thought.  But  by  the  regular  employ- 
ment of  the  general  formula  we  can  prevent  any  such 
recurrence.  Instead  of  reverting  to  unhealthy  states 
of  mind  we  shall  progressively  strengthen  the  healthy 
and  creative  thought  that  has  already  given  us  health, 


114     THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

so  that  with  each  succeeding  day  our  defence  will  be 
more  impenetrable.  Not  only  do  we  thus  avoid  a 
relapse  into  former  ailments  but  we  clear  out  of  our 
path  those  which  lie  in  wait  for  us  in  the  future. 

We  saw  that  in  the  Nancy  clinic  some  of  the  cures 
effected  are  almost  instantaneous.  It  would  be  a  mis- 
take, however,  to  embark  on  the  practice  of  Induced 
Autosuggestion  with  the  impression  that  we  are  going 
to  be  miraculously  healed  in  the  space  of  a  few  days. 
Granted  sufficient  faith,  such  a  result  would  undoubt- 
edly ensue ;  nay,  more,  we  have  records  of  quite  a  num- 
ber of  such  cases,  even  where  the  help  of  a  second 
person  has  not  been  called  in.  Here  is  an  example. 
A  friend  of  mine,  M.  Albert  P.,  of  Bordeaux,  had 
suffered  for  more  than  ten  years  with  neuralgia  of 
the  face.  Hearing  of  Coue,  he  wrote  to  him,  and  re- 
ceived instructions  to  repeat  the  general  formula.  He 
did  so,  and  on  the  second  day  the  neuralgia  had  van- 
ished and  has  never  since  returned.  But  such  faith 
is  not  common.  Immediate  cures  are  the  exception, 
and  it  will  be  safer  for  us  to  look  forward  to  a  gradual 
and  progressive  improvement.  In  this  way  we  shall 
guard  against  disappointment.  It  may  be  added  that 
Coue  prefers  the  gradual  cure,  finding  it  more  stable 
and  less  likely  to  be  disturbed  by  adverse  conditions. 

We  should  approach  autosuggestion  in  the  same  rea- 
sonable manner  as  we  approach  any  other  scientific  dis- 
covery. There  is  no  hocus-pocus  about  it,  nor  are  any 
statements  made  here  which  experience  cannot  verify. 
But  the  attitude  we  should  beware  most  of  is  that  of 
the  intellectual  amateur,  who  makes  the  vital  things  of 
life  small  coin  to  exchange  with  his  neighbour  of  the 
dinner-table.  Like  religion,  autosuggestion  is  a  thing 
to  practise.  A  man  may  be  conversant  with  all  the 


CONCLUSION  115 

creeds  in  Christendom  and  be  none  the  better  for  it; 
while  some  simple  soul,  loving  God  and  his  fellows, 
may  combine  the  high  principles  of  Christianity  in  his 
life  without  any  acquaintance  with  theology.  So  it  is 
with  autosuggestion. 

Autosuggestion  is  just  as  effective  in  the  treatment 
of  moral  delinquencies  as  in  that  of  physical  ills. 
Drunkenness,  kleptomania,  the  drug  habit,  uncon- 
trolled or  perverted  sexual  desires,  as  well  as  minor 
failings  of  character,  are  all  susceptible  to  its  action. 
It  is  as  powerful  in  small  things  as  in  great.  By  par- 
ticular suggestions  we  can  modify  our  tastes.  We  can 
acquire  a  relish  for  the  dishes  we  naturally  dislike,  and 
make  disagreeable  medicine  taste  pleasant.  So  en- 
couraging has  been  its  application  to  the  field  of  morals 
that  Coue  is  trying  to  gain  admittance  to  the  French 
state  reformatories.  So  far,  the  official  dislike  for 
innovations  has  proved  a  barrier,  but  there  is  good 
reason  to  hope  that  in  the  near  future  the  application 
of  this  method  to  the  treatment  of  the  criminal  will 
be  greatly  extended. 

By  way  of  anticipating  an  objection  it  may  be  stated 
that  the  Coue  method  of  Induced  Autosuggestion  is 
in  no  sense  inferior  to  hypnotic  suggestion.  Coue 
himself  began  his  career  as  a  hypnotist,  but  being  dis- 
satisfied with  the  results,  set  out  in  quest  of  a  method 
more  simple  and  universal.  Conscious  autosuggestion, 
apart  from  its  convenience,  can  boast  one  great  advan- 
tage over  its  rival.  The  effects  of  hypnotic  suggestion 
are  often  lost  within  a  few  hours  of  the  treatment. 
Whereas  by  the  use  of  the  general  formula  the  results 
of  Induced  Autosuggestion  go  on  progressively  aug- 
menting. 

Here  we  touch  again  the  question  of  the  suggester. 


116     THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

We  have  already  seen  that  a  suggester  is  not  needed, 
that  autosuggestion  can  yield  its  fullest  fruits  to  those 
who  practise  it  unaided.  But  some  persons  cannot  be 
prevailed  on  to  accept  this  fact.  They  feel  a  sense  of 
insufficiency;  the  mass  of  old  wrong  suggestions  has 
risen  so  mountain-high  that  they  imagine  themselves 
incapable  of  removing  it.  With  such  the  presence  of 
a  suggester  is  an  undoubted  help.  They  have  nothing 
to  do  but  lie  passive  and  receive  the  ideas  he  evokes. 
Even  so,  however,  they  will  get  little  good  unless  they 
consent  to  repeat  the  general  formula. 

But  as  long  as  we  look  on  autosuggestion  as  a 
remedy  we  miss  its  true  significance.  Primarily  it  is 
a  means  of  self -culture,  and  one  far  more  potent  than 
any  we  have  hitherto  possessed.  It  enables  us  to 
develop  the  mental  qualities  we  lack:  efficiency,  judg- 
ment, creative  imagination,  all  that  will  help  us  to  bring 
our  life's  enterprise  to  a  successful  end.  Most  of  us 
are  aware  of  thwarted  abilities,  powers  undeveloped, 
impulses  checked  in  their  growth.  These  are  present 
in  our  Unconscious  like  trees  in  a  forest,  which,  over- 
shadowed by  their  neighbours,  are  stunted  for  lack  of 
air  and  sunshine.  By  means  of  autosuggestion  we  can 
supply  them  with  the  power  needed  for  growth  and 
bring  them  to  fruition  in  our  conscious  lives.  How- 
ever old,  however  infirm,  however  selfish,  weak  or 
vicious  we  may  be,  autosuggestion  will  do  something 
for  us.  It  gives  us  a  new  means  of  culture  and  dis- 
cipline by  which  the  "  accents  immature,"  the  "  pur- 
poses unsure  "  can  be  nursed  into  strength,  and  the 
evil  impulses  attacked  at  the  root.  It  is  essentially  an 
individual  practice,  an  individual  attitude  of  mind. 
Only  a  narrow  view  would  split  it  up  into  categories, 
debating  its  application  to  this  thing  or  to  that.  It 


CONCLUSION  117 

touches  our  being  in  its  wholeness.  Below  the  fussy 
perturbed  little  ego,  with  its  local  habitation,  its  name, 
its  habits  and  views  and  oddities  is  an  ocean  of  power, 
as  serene  as  the  depths  below  the  troubled  surface  of 
the  sea.  Whatever  is  of  you  comes  eventually  thence, 
however  perverted  by  the  prism  of  self -consciousness. 
Autosuggestion  is  a  channel  by  which  the  tranquil 
powers  of  this  ultimate  being  are  raised  to  the  level  of 
our  life  here  and  now. 

What  prospects  does  autosuggestion  open  to  us  in 
the  future? 

It  teaches  us  that  the  burdens  of  life  are,  at  least 
in  large  measure,  of  our  own  creating.  We  repro- 
duce in  ourselves  and  in  our  circumstances  the  thoughts 
of  our  minds.  It  goes  further.  It  offers  us  a  means 
by  which  we  can  change  these  thoughts  when  they  are 
evil  and  foster  them  when  they  are  good,  so  producing 
a  corresponding  betterment  in  our  individual  life.  But 
the  process  does  not  end  with  the  individual.  The 
thoughts  of  society  are  realised  in  social  conditions, 
the  thoughts  of  humanity  in  world  conditions.  What 
would  be  the  attitude  towards  our  social  and  interna- 
tional problems  of  a  generation  nurtured  from  infancy 
in  the  knowledge  and  practice  of  autosuggestion?  If 
fear  and  disease  were  banned  from  the  individual  life, 
could  they  persist  in  the  life  of  the  nation?  If  each 
person  found  happiness  in  his  own  heart  would  the 
illusory  greed  for  possession  survive  ?  The  acceptance 
of  autosuggestion  entails  a  change  of  attitude,  a  re- 
valuation of  life.  If  we  stand  with  our  faces  west- 
ward we  see  nothing  but  clouds  and  darkness,  yet  by 
a  simple  turn  of  the  head  we  bring  the  wide  panorama 
of  the  sunrise  into  view. 

That  Coue's  discoveries  may  profoundly  affect  our 


118     THE  PRACTICE  OF  AUTOSUGGESTION 

educational  methods  is  beyond  question.  Hitherto  we 
have  been  dealing  directly  only  with  the  conscious 
mind,  feeding  it  with  information,  grafting  on  to  it 
useful  accomplishments.  What  has  been  done  for  the 
development  of  character  has  been  incidental  and  sec- 
ondary. This  was  inevitable  so  long  as  the  Uncon- 
scious remained  undiscovered,  but  now  we  have  the 
means  of  reaching  profounder  depths,  of  endowing  the 
child  not  only  with  reading  and  arithmetic,  but  with 
health,  character  and  personality. 

But  perhaps  it  is  in  our  treatment  of  the  criminal 
that  the  greatest  revolution  may  be  expected.  The 
acts  for  which  he  is  immured  result  from  nothing  more 
than  twists  and  tangles  of  the  threads  of  thought  in 
the  Unconscious  mind.  This  is  the  view  of  eminent 
authorities.  But  autosuggestion  takes  us  a  long  step 
further.  It  shows  how  these  discords  of  character 
may  be  resolved.  Since  Coue  has  succeeded  in  restor- 
ing to  moral  health  a  youth  of  homicidal  tendencies, 
why  should  not  the  same  method  succeed  with  many 
of  the  outcasts  who  fill  our  prisons?  At  least  the 
younger  delinquents  should  prove  susceptible.  But  the 
idea  underlying  this  attitude  entails  a  revolution  in  our 
penal  procedure.  It  means  little  less  than  this:  that 
crime  is  a  disease  and  should  be  treated  as  such ;  that 
the  idea  of  punishment  must  give  place  to  that  of  cure ; 
the  vindictive  attitude  to  one  of  pity.  This  brings  us 
near  to  the  ideals  of  the  New  Testament,  and  indeed, 
autosuggestion,  as  a  force  making  for  goodness,  is 
bound  to  touch  closely  on  religion. 

It  teaches  the  doctrine  of  the  inner  life  which  saints 
and  sages  have  proclaimed  through  all  ages.  It  as- 
serts that  within  are  the  sources  of  calm,  of  power  and 
of  courage,  and  that  the  man  who  has  once  attained 


CONCLUSION  119 

mastery  of  this  inner  sphere  is  secure  in  the  face  of 
all  that  may  befall  him.  This  truth  is  apparent  in  the 
lives  of  great  men.  Martyrs  could  sing  at  the  stake 
because  their  eyes  were  turned  within  on  the  vision  of 
glory  which  filled  their  hearts.  Great  achievements 
have  been  wrought  by  men  who  had  the  fortitude  to 
follow  the  directions  of  an  inner  voice,  even  in  contra- 
diction to  the  massed  voices  they  heard  without. 

Suppose  we  find  that  the  power  Christ  gave  to  his 
disciples  to  work  miracles  of  healing  was  not  a  gift 
conferred  on  a  few  selected  individuals,  but  was  the 
heritage  of  all  men ;  that  the  kingdom  of  heaven  within 
us  to  which  He  alluded  was  available  in  a  simple  way 
for  the  purging  and  elevation  of  our  common  life,  for 
procuring  sounder  health  and  sweeter  minds.  Is  not 
the  affirmation  contained  in  Coue's  formula  a  kind  of 
prayer?  Does  it  not  appeal  to  something  beyond  the 
self-life,  to  the  infinite  power  lying  behind  us? 

Autosuggestion  is  no  substitute  for  religion;  it  is 
rather  a  new  weapon  added  to  the  religious  armoury. 
If  as  a  mere  scientific  technique  it  can  yield  such  re- 
sults, what  might  it  not  do  as  the  expression  of  those 
high  yearnings  for  perfection  which  religion  incor- 
porates ? 


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